Tag: banking crisis

Government stake in NatWest Group reduced to below 50% for first time since financial crisis

For the first time since the financial crisis, NatWest Group plc (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc) is no longer under majority public ownership following a £1.2 billion sale of part of the government’s shareholding back to NatWest.

This is the government’s fifth sale of its NatWest shareholding bringing its level of ownership down from 50.6% to 48.1%. This is a landmark in the government’s plan to return to private ownership the institutions brought into public ownership as a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury authorised the sale of approximately 550 million shares in NatWest at 220.5p per share raising a total of £1.2 billion. The shares were bought back by NatWest and the process was managed by UK Government Investments.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen said: “This sale means that the government is no longer the majority owner of NatWest Group and is therefore an important landmark in our plan to return the bank to the private sector.

“We will continue to prioritise delivering value for money for the taxpayer as we take forward this plan.”

NatWest chief Alison Rose said the share buyback is an “important milestone” for the bank.

Ms. Rose said: “The deal is a good use of capital for the bank and our shareholders. Reducing government ownership below 50% is an important milestone for NatWest Group and a further demonstration of the progress we are making as we continue to deliver for our customers and shareholders.”

Letters: All in this together? Don’t believe the lies!

Dear Editor

The misplaced faith expressed by the people of the UK in 2010, believing the financial disaster caused by the banking industry would be dealt with by the Conservatives and their Liberal allies in a fair way, saying that “we are all in this together.”

In a typically British way, the government was given a chance to ‘do the right thing’ but we know, to our cost, they didn’t. Instead, they embarked on a systematic policy of wage-cutting and drastic cuts in both local and national public services for eight years – and they have said cuts will continue for many years to come.

People have learned a hard lesson in thinking that Conservatives will be fair and treat all people equally. They have failed on all counts: they are not competent, they are not fair and, above all, they seem not to care.

Their main political purpose is to maintain the system of ownership and control by the rich, for the rich.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens