There has been a marked increase in the number of bets placed on Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) share price to rise, according to online financial bookmaker BetsForTraders.

The website revealed RBS currently accounts for the largest number of bets. Traders have made 17 times more bets on RBS than usual, with 89% putting money on the bank’s share price going up.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at BetsForTraders, said: “The large increase in bets on RBS is due to rumours that the Qatar Investment Authority is interested in buying a stake in the British bank. RBS shares were up by 4% during yesterday’s trading and rose by 5% during Monday’s trading. Savvy market punters are piling in with the expectation that the share price will rocket.”