LONG-standing investors in Royal Bank of Scotland have received their first dividend in a decade, writes Scott Wright.

Shareholders were yesterday paid an interim dividend of 2p per share. It was the first pay-out made to investors since 2008, before the bank’s implosion in the financial crisis which saw it saved by a UK Government bailout of £45.5 billion.

The bank had declared its intention to pay the dividend in August as it announced it had reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice over its role in the sale of toxic mortgages before the crisis.

Edinburgh-based Royal is still majority-owned by UK taxpayers, though the Government has begun to sell down its stake to institutional investors. UK Financial Investments, which manages the Government’s shareholding, offloaded a 7.7 per cent stake in June, reducing its stake in the bank from 70.1% to 62.4%.

Royal Bank chief executive Ross McEwan said: “I’m pleased to be able to pay a dividend to our shareholders; a small return after their many years of patience and a testament to the hard work of everyone at this bank.

“This is another important milestone in our turnaround, almost ten years to the day that RBS was rescued by the British taxpayer.

“We have created a smaller, safer bank that is generating more sustainable profits.”