NatWest (NWG.L) has said the taxpayers’ stake in the banking giant has now fallen below 1% as it takes a further step towards a return to full private ownership.

The Treasury announced the sale of another chunk of shares in the lender, taking its shareholding down from 1.98% to 0.9%.

The banking giant is now set to become fully private almost 17 years after receiving a state bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

NatWest – which was branded RBS at the time – received almost £46 billion of taxpayer funding in 2008 and 2009.

The bailout was engineered by then prime minister Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling amid fears the bank would run out of cash.

The Treasury’s stake peaked at 84.4% in December 2009. At the end of 2023, the shareholding was at 40%, but the Treasury has been accelerating efforts to offload its stake by selling shares to retail investors and into the public market.

A NatWest spokesman said: “Returning the bank to full private ownership is an ambition we share with the Government, and one that we believe is in the interests of all our shareholders.

“We welcome the progress that the Treasury continues to make, having reduced its shareholding in the bank from nearly 40% in December 2023 to below 1% today.”

It is not known exactly when the taxpayer stake will be fully sold off.

Earlier this month, at the group’s recent first quarter results, Paul Thwaite, chief executive of NatWest, said: “This is a significant year for NatWest, particularly as we approach our return to full private ownership.

“Although there is no strategic or operational impact of the Government exit, the accelerated sell-down over the last 18 months is testament to the performance of the business and has helped us to attract new global investors who share our ambitions.”

View Comments