Sale to Natwest is a loss for UK Government
The UK Treasury has announced it has finalised the sale of £1.1bn worth of shares back to Natwest (LON:NWG).
The Treasury’s stake in the British bank is now down to 59.8% from 61.7% following the third sale of its holding.
In an off-market buy, Natwest purchased 591m shares at a value of 190.5p each, worth £1.1bn in total.
The shares were originally bought at around 500p apiece, so the sale represents a hefty loss.
The UK Government bailed out RBS, now known as Natwest, in 2008 in order to protect the bank against a collapse at the height of the financial crisis.
A statement from the Treasury said that the share sale “represents an important step in the government’s plan to return institutions brought into public ownership as a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis to private ownership”.
The buyback will also consider a £500m contribution to Natwest’s pension scheme as part of an agreement reached in 2018.
Natwest’s share price is up 1.63% to 193.6p on early Friday morning trading.
