LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s government’s stake in NatWest Group has fallen to below 50%, returning the lender to majority private control for the first time since it was bailed out by taxpayers at the height of the global financial crisis over a decade ago.
Formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest Group has bought 549,851,147 shares from the UK government, resulting in the government’s voting rights falling to 48.1%, the bank said in a statement.
The finance ministry said it authorised the sale of its shares at Friday’s closing price of 220.5 pence per share.
The fifth transaction to reduce public ownership of NatWest, it raised 1.2 billion pounds ($1.58 billion) for the government, the ministry said.
Britain’s finance ministry said last year it had instructed Morgan Stanley to sell NatWest shares on its behalf in a scheme starting on Aug. 12 and running until Aug. 11, 2022.
“We will continue to prioritise delivering value for money for the taxpayer as we take forward this plan,” said John Glen, economic secretary to the treasury.
Britain spent 45 billion pounds bailing out the lender, once one of the world’s largest, in 2008.
($1 = 0.7609 pounds)
(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
