His comments came as the bank’s results for the first three months of 2013 saw pre-tax profit return to black following a £2.2bn loss in Q4 2012, with group operating profit up 50% on the quarter to £829m.

Excluding adjustments in the value of its own credit, the group’s pre-tax profits stood at £577m. Non-core operating losses stood at £505m, down 46% on Q4 2012 due to a further reduction in impairments, the bank said.

Commenting on the results, Hampton said: “The balance sheet is now substantially fixed. This is our best quarterly performance for some time now.

“What we want to do is have a business that is performing well for its customers and shareholders, and strong in capital so we can write a prospectus with the government, enabling it to start selling shares from, let’s say, the middle of 2014 onwards.

“It could be earlier, that is a matter for the government, but certainly we think the recovery process could be substantially complete in about a year or so.”

RBS’s markets division – its investment bank –  saw operating profit rise from £139m to £278m, driven by a 62% rise in income, though lower client activity profits remained well down on the £824m reported for Q1 2012.

The bank’s wealth business saw operating profit decline on the quarter, down from £76m to £56m, despite a reduction in impairment losses. RBS said clients have “welcomed” Coutts’ transition to an advice-led model.