LONDON -The BBC says Britain's Business Secretary Vince Cable has suggested that the bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland should be split up.
The BBC said Tuesday it had obtained a letter from Cable to Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg saying the government needs to recognize that RBS won't return to the market "in its current shape."
The BBC reports that in his letter dated Feb. 8 Cable suggested that the government use RBS's time "as ward of state to carve out of it a British business bank" aimed at rapidly increasing lending and supporting exports and sectors of strategic importance.
The British government spent 45 billion pounds to rescue and nationalize RBS following its near-collapse in 2008. The government now holds an 82 percent stake in the lender.
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