Natwest to return to private hands

THE Treasury is to sell down its stake in Natwest, in a move likely to return the bailed-out bank to majority private ownership while saddling the taxpayer with millions of pounds of losses.

Whitehall will gradually offload some of its shares in the bank over a 12-month period starting in August, 13 years on from a £46bn bailout to prevent the lender from destroying the financial system.

The sale is all but certain to result in a loss for taxpayers, who paid 502p a share to rescue Natwest in 2008. The stock is now worth just under 200p after a 19pc rise this year, valuing the bank at £22.5bn.

The bank was bailed out by the Government after then chancellor Alistair Darling was told it was within hours of running out of money. Ministers bought an 84pc stake in the lender amid a public outcry that led to its boss, Fred Goodwin, being stripped of his knighthood.

The Treasury did not say exactly how many shares it plans to offload, but it has a cap of 15pc on the trading volume in the stock each day.

It said the sale would be carried out “at a price that represents value for money for taxpayers”.