Britain lowers stake in NatWest with $1.6 bln share sale

British state-backed bank NatWest has agreed to buy 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) worth of its shares back from the government, as it edges closer towards private ownership 15 years after it was bailed out in the global financial crisis.

The deal will reduce the government's stake in the former Royal Bank of Scotland to 38.69% from around 41.4%. NatWest said it had agreed to buy the shares at 268.4 pence per share.

The lender returned to majority private ownership in March 2022 after a similar block sale. The government has a target of fully returning NatWest to private ownership by 2026.

"Today's sale is another major milestone in returning NatWest to full private ownership as promised," Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury, said in a statement. Britain owned 84% of NatWest at the peak of its ownership after it bailed out the bank in 2008.

The sale announced on Monday is the government's sixth block sale of NatWest stock to date, the government said. "This transaction reduces government ownership below 40% and demonstrates positive progress on the bank's strategic priorities and the path to privatization," NatWest CEO Alison Rose said in a statement.

($1 = 0.7923 pounds)

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