NatWest share milestone: Taxpayer stake in RBS owner drops below 3%

Royal Bank of Scotland owner NatWest Group has moved another step closer to resuming full private ownership after the taxpayer’s stake in the bailed-out lender dropped below 3 per cent.

The UK government has been reducing its holding by means of an ongoing trading plan, where shares are sold into the market on a regular basis. A stock exchange update has noted that the Treasury’s shareholding in NatWest has now fallen to 2.99 per cent.

Last year, the government ‘s stake fell sharply, from about 38 per cent in December 2023 to just under 10 per cent a year later. This was through a combination of the trading plan and two directed share buybacks.

The UK government's holding in NatWest Group has fallen to below 3%.

The stake sales by UK Government Investments come as the state seeks to whittle down its shareholding in the RSB parent, following its near £46 billion bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

FTSE 100 NatWest’s shares have gained almost 13 per cent so far in 2025, and are up more than 60 per cent over the past 12 months.

A NatWest Group spokesperson said: “Returning the bank to full private ownership is an ambition we share with the government, and one that we believe is in the interests of all our shareholders. We welcome the progress that the Treasury continues to make, having reduced its shareholding in the bank from nearly 40 per cent in December 2023 to below 3 per cent today.”

In February, NatWest Group reported a better-than-expected annual profit haul as the bank edges closer to returning to private ownership.

At the time, chief executive Paul Thwaite said shedding the UK Treasury’s remaining shareholding would mark a “new, forward-looking chapter” for the lending giant. The group told investors it made an operating pre-tax profit of £6.2 billion in 2024, some 0.3 per cent up on 2023. This was slightly ahead of the £6.1bn profit some analysts had been expecting.

NatWest said it benefited from lending growth during the year, with mortgage demand increasing as the property market improved and after acquiring Metro Bank’s loan book. Deposits also increased year-on-year as savings balances grew, offsetting a decline in current account balances.

The retail bank nonetheless generated less income than in 2023, as borrowing costs started to come down and more people moved savings into accounts with higher interest rates. This means the bank generates less from loans, but pays out more for savings.

Thwaite told investors: “As we enter a new, forward-looking chapter for NatWest Group , I am optimistic about the opportunities ahead of us to grow our business as a vital and trusted partner to our customers and the UK itself and, in doing so, create further value for our shareholders.”

He added that the group was continuing work to build a “simpler, more integrated and technology-driven bank” with it targeting cost savings across the business.

Zoe Gillespie, investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “NatWest is in fine fettle. On this trajectory, NatWest could potentially return to full private ownership this year and, with that, new opportunities may open up to the bank.”