RBS to inject £1.7bn into Scottish housing market

In a move which has been welcomed by Finance Secretary, John Swinney, the Royal Bank of Scotland has pledged to aid Scotland’s housing sector by injecting £1.7bn worth of mortgages into the economy over the forthcoming year.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has promised to help the Scottish housing market through a £1.7bn package which includes £500m released via the Treasury’s Asset Protection Scheme, with the Scottish Secretary, Jim Murphy, saying that the move by the lender has underlined the positive effects of the government’s actions to bring stability to the banking industry.

In a bid to continue to assist first time buyers, RBS confirmed that it would still offer borrowers loans of up to 90%. The lender also said that it would be prepared to make more money available to customers if the demand was there, to further aid Scotland’s property industry.

RBS Group’s chief executive of consumer banking, Paul Geddes, said that the bank hoped its recent pledge would provide borrowers with "the financial means to get back on track and realise their plans for the future."

Mr. Murphy said that when the UK government took action to support the banking sector, it was with a view to "save the lifeline services they provide for individuals and businesses and to allow us to keep moving economically."

He added that RBS’ news confirmed that the government was "right to do so" and brought into focus the positive effects which were subsequently appearing.

Meanwhile, Mr. Swinney was optimistic that RBS’ pledge would help to "re-invigorate Scotland's property market".

Source: bbc.co.uk | Last updated: 11th March 2009

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