- Final share sale ends nearly 17 years of public ownership
- Millions of savers and businesses protected during the financial crisis
- Taxpayers prioritised through value-for-money sales at market price since this government came to office
The government has sold its remaining shares in NatWest Group (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS) — ending public ownership that began when it stepped in to protect millions of savers and businesses during the financial crisis.
That intervention prevented the UK economy and financial system from going over the edge – protecting millions of savers, businesses and jobs.
Over 2008 and 2009, the government provided £45.5 billion to stabilise RBS (now NatWest), which at the time was one of the largest banks in the world- with over 40 million customers and operations in more than 50 countries.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:
Nearly two decades ago, the then Government stepped in to protect millions of savers and businesses from the consequences of the collapse of RBS. That was the right decision then to secure the economy and NatWest’s return to private ownership turns the page on a significant chapter in this country’s history. We protected the economy in a time of crisis nearly seventeen years ago, now we are focused on securing Britain’s future in a new era of global change.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds said:
Bringing NatWest fully back into private ownership marks a significant milestone for the UK banking sector following the financial crisis.
Since coming into government, we have halted the NatWest retail share sale, which could have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. Instead, we put taxpayers first by only selling NatWest shares at market value— securing more money to invest in vital public services.
To date, £35 billion has been returned to the Exchequer through share sales, dividends and fees. While this is around £10.5 billion less than the original support, the alternative would have been a collapse with far greater economic costs and social consequences.
The Office for Budget Responsibility are clear on this point: the cost of doing nothing would almost certainly have been far greater than the difference between the capital injected and proceeds returned.
Allowing the bank to fail would have devastated people’s savings, mortgages and livelihoods — and shattered confidence in the UK’s financial system.
Since taking office in 2024, the government has prioritised securing value for taxpayers — scrapping plans for a retail sale that could have cost hundreds of millions of pounds due to the need to sell shares at a discounted price to attract retail buyers.
Instead, shares were sold only at market price and when it represented value for money — helping fund the Plan for Change to invest in the NHS, education and defence.
The government has now exited all banking sector interventions made during the financial crisis.
Notes to editors
- Shares were sold through three accelerated bookbuilds in 2015 (£2.1bn), 2018 (£2.5bn), 2021 (£1.1bn), five directed buybacks of shares by NatWest in March 2021 (£1.1bn), March 2022 (£1.2bn), May 2023 (£1.3bn), May 2024 (£1.2bn), and November 2024 (£1bn), and a trading plan from 2021–2025
- The final shares were sold through the trading plan on 30 May 2025. In total, the trading plan generated over £13.2bn in proceeds from sales of NatWest shares
- Peak government stake in RBS was 84.4%
- A retail sale, proposed under the previous government, was cancelled in 2024 due to the additional costs to taxpayers, estimated in the hundreds of millions
- UK Government Investments (UKGI), who managed the shareholding on behalf of HMT, ensured all sales delivered value for money
- Explainer of total amount received by government in relation to NatWest shareholding:
| Type | Amount (£bn) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sale proceeds | 24.77 | Total combined proceeds from sales of the shareholding between 2015 and 2025. |
| Dividends | 4.91 | Total combined dividends received since the bank recommenced dividend payments in 2018. |
| Dividend Access Share | 1.51 | Combined value of payments made to retire the DAS, which provided enhanced dividend rights to HMT following the provision of capital support to RBS. The DAS was retired in 2016. |
| Asset Protection Scheme fees | 2.50 | Fees paid by RBS in exchange for its participation in the APS, which protected against exceptional credit losses on certain portfolios of assets. RBS exited the APS in 2012. |
| Contingent Capital Facility fees | 1.28 | Fees paid in return for the provision of an £8bn CCF to RBS by HMT in 2009. The CCF was terminated in 2013. |
| Total | £34.98 | |
| *Numbers may not sum due to rounding |
