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RBS shares close under £1 on bailout fears

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-08 11:41

Stocks of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plunged by nearly 40 per cent on Tuesday to less than £1 on fears that a £50 billion (US$90) UK government bailout of British banks would result in a partial nationalization of the banks.

RBS stock fell to a record low of 90p on suggestions that it had approached the UK government about a capital injection that would dilute the holdings of existing shareholders.

But the bank said in a statement: "RBS did not make a request to the Government for capital." The shares closed at 90p, down 58.1p, or 39.23 percent.

The bank of Barclays was trading 29p lower at 285p, a fall of 9.24 percent.