BANK of England governor Mark Carney has said it is "imperative" the uncertainty surrounding the Royal Bank of Scotland's future is dissipated.
The bank is still more than 80% owned by taxpayers. There have been calls to split its risky investment bank from its mainstream retail and business lending arm.
Mr Carney said while he had a view abut what should be done, he would only share his thoughts with "someone in a position of authority".
He added: "It is absolutely imperative that the uncertainty around RBS is dissipated, absolutely imperative."
In a newspaper interview, Mr Carney said he was acutely aware of housing bubble risks and was ready to step in with direct action.
He said he could use the new powers of the bank's financial policy committee to curb surging house prices and uncontrolled lending.
Canadian Mr Carney said he was alert to the potential damage of a house price bubble, saying: "I lived in the country (the UK) in the late 80s, 1990s. I saw the boom-bust cycle in the housing sector, the damage it can do, the length of time it took to repair. I'm very alert personally to this issue."
House prices have surged this month in the wake of government schemes to boost the market and help first-time buyers.
Property values rose 3.5% year-on-year according to Nationwide Building Society, and climbed 1.4% in the three months to August, the fastest rise in three years.
Mr Carney said the bank was watching rising house prices closely. He said the bank now had a toolkit to restrict mortgage credit and could even raise the amount of cash banks and building societies must hold to restrain home loans.
Mr Carney said: "We have the responsibility to assess emerging vulnerabilities in the economy such as housing, make those assessments and recommend action.
"Interest rates are principally an instrument of monetary policy for achieving the inflation outcome and there are other tools that address risks."
The governor said heading off a housing bubble like that of six years ago before the financial crisis would be a "challenging task".
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