NatWest is a step closer to being returned to full private ownership after the Government sold an estimated £1.26bn in shares back to the bank.

Via a directed buyback, the sale has reduced the Government’s shareholding to 38.6%, down from around 84% at its peak.

It marks the sixth block sale of NatWest shares since the Government intervened in NatWest to protect financial stability during the global financial crisis in 2008.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously stated that, without the Government’s interventions in the financial sector, the cost of the global financial crisis would almost certainly have been far greater.

According to the Treasury, the latest sale also delivers “significant progress” against the Government’s intention as announced at its Spring Budget to fully exit the shareholding by 2025/26, subject to market conditions.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith, said: “Today’s sale is another major milestone in returning NatWest to full private ownership as promised. The Government has now sold well over half of its shareholding.”

The Treasury also indicated that it will only dispose of its NatWest shareholding when it “represents value for money to do so”, as well as when market conditions allow.

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