<b>Exclusive
By Foo Tse
Economics Editor (on secondment from the Peking Times)</b>

<b>There was a gold rush in East Anglia today as the Government announced a block sale of shares in the Royal Bank of Suffolk.</b>

More than 25 years after it was privatised for being "too backward", the bank has now been dragged into the modern world.

It means the Chancellor, George Osborne is confident enough to release a £57 stake, with RBS shares trading at 0.0001 pence each from 8am this morning, sparking a huge scramble from investors to get in on the action.

The Royal Bank of Suffolk was formed in Wickham Market in 1876 when it had a unique approach to funding, using only swedes, pigs and potatoes as currency.

<center><a href="http://www.suffolkgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/barn-old.jpg"><img src="http://www.suffolkgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/barn-old.jpg" alt="barn-old" width="450" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1255" /></a></center><center><i>The plush RBS headquarters in Wickham Market</center></i><br><br>

As other national banks grew to become huge corporations, the Royal Bank of Suffolk refused to reform, and did not even start offering essential financial services to Suffolk residents until 1953.

That's when the first tractor loan scheme was introduced, followed by the first ISA investments (Ipswich Seed Association), which allowed customers to club together and buy seed for growing turnips, swedes, onions and barley.

However, the RBS was rocked by scandal in the 1990s when it got caught in the credit crunch, approving huge  unsecured loans to people trying to buy beach huts at Southwold.

There was further bad publicity ten years ago when it was revealed bank executives had pocketed huge bonuses of tens of pounds and free Adnams beer - despite making a loss.

City experts predicted the RBS, which is head-quartered in a barn in Wickham Market's Church Lane, would return to profitability within 22 years, and insisted the shares were a good opportunity.

One stockbroker said: "At 0.0001 the RBS shares are something of a bargain as they could go as high as 0.0002 pence by 2035."

However, that sparked allegations that the Government was selling off its stake in the bank too cheaply. Suffolk county council Labour councillor Dow Jones said: "This sale is a rip-off and has cost Suffolk tax payers £57." 
     
Like us on Facebook: <iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsuffolkgazette&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=true&amp;height=21" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; height:21px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>