Norway wealth fund backs NatWest plan to buy more state-owned stock

The British government, which bailed out the lender at the height of the 2007-9 financial crisis, recently reduced its stake in NatWest to below 30%, making it no longer a controlling shareholder. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which operates the Norwegian fund, is one of NatWest's biggest investors, with a 3.23% stake in the British bank at the end of 2023, valued at the time at $794.3 million.

Norway's $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, said on Thursday it would vote in favour of a proposal letting NatWest buy back more of its stock from the British government, amid efforts to speed up privatisation.

Ahead of its annual meeting on April 23, lender NatWest has asked its investors to back a resolution that would enable it to acquire up to 15% of its total stock from the government in a 12-month period, up from a previous ceiling of 5% a year. The British government, which bailed out the lender at the height of the 2007-9 financial crisis, recently reduced its stake in NatWest to below 30%, making it no longer a controlling shareholder.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which operates the Norwegian fund, is one of NatWest's biggest investors, with a 3.23% stake in the British bank at the end of 2023, valued at the time at $794.3 million. NBIM did not give a reason for approving the motion.

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