By Michael Susin
The U.K government once again trimmed its stake in NatWest Group, progressing with plans that could mean the bank returns to private ownership in the coming months.
The treasury reduced its shareholding to 5.93% from 6.98% in the London-based retail and commercial lender, regulatory filings showed Friday.
It now holds 1.91 billion voting rights in the lender, equal to 477.6 million shares, which are worth around 2.25 billion pounds ($2.83 billion) based on Thursday's closing price of 470.9 pence a share.
The reduction is part of the government's plan to steadily exit its position in the bank, which could conclude as early as the first half of the year.
The government's stake in the bank resulted from its 2008 bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland, which bought NatWest in 2000 and rebranded the enlarged company as NatWest Group in 2020. The U.K. spent 45.5 billion pounds on the bailout and, at one point, owned 84% of the bank.
Shares in NatWest have nearly doubled over the past 12 months.
Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2025 06:12 ET (11:12 GMT)
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