One of the largest corporate collections of art in the UK - including works by LS Lowry, Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney - is set to be put on public display by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

According to the Guardian newspaper, the bank is holding discussions with museums and arts experts about the possibility of loaning and exhibiting its collection, which was last put on show in 2003. A spokesperson for RBS told the newspaper: "We are determined to fulfil the responsibilities that come with the support we have been privileged to receive and that come with our wider position in society.

"To that end we are actively engaged in discussions around the art collection and considering options for sharing this more widely than we have in the past." RBS' collection of art, which was established following the merger of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest in 2000, is estimated to be worth millions of pounds and includes a number of prominent contemporary British paintings.