The UK government has announced the sale of £1.26 billion of NatWest stock to the bank as it edges back towards private ownership.

The deal reduces the government's stake in the bank it bailed out in 2008 from around 41.4 per cent to 38.69 per cent. This is the lowest amount of government ownership since it acquired 84 per cent of the bank at the height of the global financial crisis for £45 billion.

NatWest returned to majority private ownership in March 2022 following a similar sale, and is aligned with the government targets to return it to full private ownership by 2026.

In a statement, the government said that it would not be rushed to sell its remaining stake. It said that the government “will only dispose of its NatWest shareholding when it represents value for money to do so and market conditions allow”.

While the bailout had been criticised by some, the government continues to state its case that the cost of the 2008 crisis would have been greater without its intervention.

The economic secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith said: “Today’s sale is another major milestone in returning NatWest to full private ownership as promised. The government has now sold well over half of its shareholding.”

In a press release, NatWest confirmed that it has purchased 469,200,081 ordinary shares in the Company with a nominal value of £1.0769 each with a total cost of the Off-Market Purchase to be £1,259,333,017.40.

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