By Pierre Bertrand


The U.K. government further reduced its stake in NatWest Group to 19.97% from 20.92% previously, regulatory filings showed Monday.

The reduction is the latest as U.K. the government works to leave the London-based retail and commercial bank and return it to private ownership by 2026.

The reduction also marks the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that the government's ownership fell below 20%, AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said in a note.

"Since postponing the public share offering, the Treasury's stake in NatWest has gone from 26.95% to 19.97% via five rounds of sales, implying there is enough demand from institutional investors to mop up its stock," Coatsworth said.

The government's stake in the bank resulted from its bailout in 2008 of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which in 2000 bought NatWest and rebranded the enlarged company as NatWest Group in 2020.

The U.K. spent 45.5 billion pounds ($59.10 billion) on the bailout and at one point owned 84% of the bank.


Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-15-24 1247ET