Taxpayer stake in NatWest drops below 30 pc

THE Government is no longer a ‘controlling shareholder’ in NatWest after its stake fell below 30 pc for the first time.

It marks the latest landmark for the lender 16 years after it was rescued in a £46bn taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. And it comes ahead of a planned public sale of a chunk of NatWest’s shares this summer.

City minister Bim Afolami said: ‘This is a significant milestone demonstrating we’re making excellent progress on fully returning NatWest to private ownership.’

The Government had effectively nationalised the bank – then known as Royal Bank of Scotland – after it was brought to the brink of collapse under the leadership of Fred Goodwin. At its height, the taxpayer stake stood at 84 pc. This was whittled away in subsequent years to reach 46 pc at the end of 2022, 38 pc by the start of this year and 29.82 pc today.

So far, government sales of its shares in the bank have recouped just over £15 bn.

But they have come at a loss, with the Treasury having initially bailed out the bank at around £5 a share. Today the shares are worth just over half that.

And the Government’s remaining stake is worth just under £7 bn.

Under the leadership of chief executive of Alison Rose, the bank – which includes the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Coutts and Ulster Bank brands – ditched the RBS group name in an attempt to break with its crisis-ridden past. However, Rose was then ensnared in a scandal of her own over the decision to drop former Ukip leader Nigel Farage as a customer of Coutts. She was forced to resign. NatWest named Paul Thwaite as interim boss. He has since been given the job permanently.

The Treasury says it plans to return NatWest to full private ownership by the 202526 financial year.

A spokesman for the bank said: ‘We welcome the Government’s continued commitment to returning NatWest group to private ownership.’