Britain's government, which acquired a stake in RBS when it bailed the bank out for 45.5 billion pounds ($61.10 billion)in the financial crisis, restarted the privatisation of the bank earlier this week, selling 7.7 percent of its holdings.

"Yes we do want to participate, I think we've got plenty of capital," McEwan said, speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, adding that his first priority would be restoring the bank's dividends.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney, Editing by Lawrence White)