Analysts were 'surprised' and 'disappointed' to hear that Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester would stand down at year end, after the board took the decision to seek out a new chief executive at the outset of an expected privatisation process.

RBS, which is majority-owned by the UK government, announced Wednesday that Hester would stand down in December 2013, giving time for a new chief executive to "prepare the privatisation process and to lead the bank in the years that follow".