NatwestGroup is now a fully private entity after the UK Treasury sold its remaining shares, it confirmed on May 30. At its peak, the Treasury owned 84.4% of the highstreet bank.
Formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Natwest sought ownership from the Treasury during 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. The idea was to prevent the UK economy and financial system “from going over the edge”.
The government provided upwards of £45.5bn to NatWest to help stabilise the bank in a bailout plan orchestrated by then UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and then Chancellor Alistair Darling.
A total of £35bn has been returned to the Treasury through share sales, dividends and fees over the years, but up to £10.5bn has been lost on taxpayer funds. The UK government noted that if not for its intervention, it would have resulted in “far greater economic costs and social consequences”.
“Nearly two decades ago, the then Government stepped in to protect millions of savers and businesses from the consequences of the collapse of RBS,” now Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on the recent announcement.
“That was the right decision then to secure the economy and NatWest’s return to private ownership turns the page on a significant chapter in this country’s history.”We protected the economy in a time of crisis nearly seventeen years ago, now we are focused on securing Britain’s future in a new era of global change.”
Natwest’s shares were subsidised over the last 10 years through three boobuilds: in 2015 (£2.1bn), 2018 (£2.5bn), and 2021 (£1.1bn). The government offloaded shares through five direct buybacks in March 2021 (£1.1bn), March 2022 (£1.2bn), May 2023 (£1.3bn), May 2024 (£1.2bn) and November 2024 (£1bn).
The final shares were sold through a trading plan which was finalised on May 30, 2025, generating over £13.2bn in proceeds from the sales of NatWest shares. The UK bank is now fully privatised after the government once held a peak share in NatWest of 84.4%.
The 2008-09 financial crisis caused a significant impact to banks and financial service industries across the world, causing markets to crash.
In the UK, the Treasury played a central role in stabilising the banking sector, intervening through capital injections, nationalisations, and the establishment of support schemes. This was primarily executed via the Bank Recapitalisation Fund, part of a wider £500bn rescue package announced in October 2008.
The most significant intervention involved RBS but other banks also needed support. Lloyds TSB came under pressure, particularly after it acquired the failing HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) in a government-brokered deal. HBOS had major exposure to bad mortgage debt, and the merger exposed Lloyds to substantial losses. The Treasury injected around over £20bn into the combined Lloyds Banking Group, acquiring a 43% stake. Unlike RBS, Lloyds returned to profitability more quickly, allowing the government to sell off its shares completely by 2017.
Another key intervention was in Northern Rock, the first major UK bank to experience a bank run in modern history. Struggling with liquidity due to its dependence on wholesale funding, it was taken into temporary public ownership in early 2008 — prior to the broader bailout programme — marking the first major nationalisation of the crisis. Its assets were later split into a “good bank” (Northern Rock plc) and a “bad bank” (UK Asset Resolution), with the good bank sold to Virgin Money in 2012.
Similarly, Bradford & Bingley, heavily exposed to the UK mortgage market, was nationalised in 2008. Its retail deposit business was sold to Santander UK, while the government took over its mortgage and loan book, which was managed by UK Asset Resolution.
“Banks in the UK have changed beyond recognition since 2008. So too the regulatory environment and culture across the city,” said NatWest Group Chair, Rick Haythornthwaite.
“Critically, the pace of technological advances has fundamentally altered how people live and work, including how they choose to access financial services and manage their money.”
Haythornthwaite noted the British economy was now at an “inflexion point”, noting growth was once again at the top of the national agenda”. He said it was the job of the finance services sector to now drive investment and job creation throughout the country.
Room for growth?
While the final offloading of NatWest shares represents the closing of a chapter in regards to the 2008 financial crisis, the bank and the Labour government are seeking to bring forth new regulatory implementations to enhance growth across its financial sectors.
Since assuming office in 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has asserted he will look to relax regulatory burdens for banks in order to fuel innovation and growth, as well as seeking to attract international and domestic investment.
One of the government’s first actions of de-escalating regulation was the merger of the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with the former falling under the latter’s supervision.
The share sales will also help fund the Plan for Change initiative, the government’s action plan to improve the support for working people which includes monetary assistance for the NHS, education, safety and more.
