Government’s stake in NatWest drops below 20 per cent for first time since bank was nationalised

NatWest received several multibillion-pound bailouts during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, leaving the Government with an 84 per cent stake in what was then known as Royal Bank of Scotland.

But the Treasury has been selling down its stake in the lender, which also owns Coutts.

In 2018, the Government owned 62 per cent of the group, which had fallen to 37.98 per cent in December.

In March, that fell below 30 per cent, meaning the Government is no longer classed as a controlling shareholder in the lender.

Earlier this year, NatWest wrote to shareholders asking them to support an increase in the amount of stock the bank could buy back from the Government in a year, from just under 5 per cent to 15 per cent.

So far, the blocks of shares have been sold to institutional investors. The Treasury was also supposed to include a public share sale this summer as part of an attempt to create a “new generation of retail investors” but that was temporarily shelved because of the General Election.

Under the new listing rules, falling below 20 per cent means that the Treasury will cease to be considered a related party to the bank one year from today.