Each taxpayer in the UK has a risk in Royal Bank of Scotland. That's why the latest results should be positive news. Almost halfway through the turnaround plan, the reports show a bank on the path to recovery that will soon be able to stand on its own two feet.

The bank is quite aware that the taxpayer wants to get the money back. The bank transformed for serving customers well, for operating safely and securely, and to rebuild value for taxpayers. These have been the bank’s priorities since the day Stephen Hester was appointed CEO.

The government has to decide for itself, when and how to sell its stake in RBS. But it is the responsibility of RBS to ensure that when the right time comes, the shares remain valuable and appealing to investors.

Every one pence change in the share price represents nine hundred million pounds of value to the taxpayer on their investment in RBS. That is what motivates RBS to do everything it can to make this a successful recovery story.

It would be foolish to say that the bank is near that objective. The course ahead is not yet secured. There are still challenges both in domestic and international front that need to be overcome. The Bank of England states that the economic recovery will be uneven.

RBS still needs to tackle the changes in regulations in the pipeline. And it has yet to see whether the Independent Commission on Banking will authenticate the reformed global regulatory regime or challenge it.

But one can be rest assured that the bank is focused on being in the best position possible to deal with any surprises. It may not be able to control events but can control what it does. And that has got to be serving the customers better and making the bank safer. That's the best way the bank can help to secure the recovery and ensure that the UK economy flourishes.