Laura WilesFollowing almost 17 years of public ownership, the Government has completed its final sale of shares in NatWest Group.
The Government’s involvement with Natwest – formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS – arose when it intervened during the financial crisis to prevent the bank’s collapse. During 2008 and 2009, it provided �45.5bn of funding to stabilise the bank, of which around �35bn has been returned to the Government via the share sales, dividends and fees. The Office for Budget Responsibility highlighted that this shortfall is far less than the economic harm that would have resulted from no intervention.
The exit from NatWest means that the Government has now concluded all banking sector interventions made during the financial crisis.