Royal Bank of Scotland, the cash-strapped UK lender, is considering selling its £2bn stake in Bank of China amid a scramble by foreign investors in mainland banks to cash in their lucrative holdings.

Stephen Hester, recently appointed as RBS chief executive after the bank was rescued by the UK government, visited Beijing this week where he met BoC executives and regulators and flagged a possible divestment of its 4.3 per cent stake.