- Reuters
NatWest profit falls less than feared ahead of state escape
LONDON (Reuters) -British bank NatWest's first-quarter profit fell by a less than expected 27%, it said on Friday, having weathered a sector-wide squeeze on income from increased competition for savings, lending and mortgage products over the past year. Rising central bank interest rates and political and media attention on the rates banks pay to savers have resulted in customers shopping around for better products, hitting retail banks across their core business lines. NatWest's pretax operating profit for the three months to March 31 was 1.3 billion pounds ($1.63 billion), down from 1.8 billion pounds a year earlier and just above the average of analyst forecast of 1.2 billion pounds.
- Reuters
Government exit would end 'sorry tale' for Britain and bank, NatWest Chair says
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's plans to sell its remaining stake in NatWest would end a "sorry tale" for both the country and the lender, and boost those who feel state support has held back NatWest in recent years, its Chair Rick Haythornthwaite said on Tuesday. "It also brings to an end what is a sorry tale for the UK and a sorry tale for the bank," he added.
- Reuters
Norway wealth fund backs NatWest plan to buy more state-owned stock
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -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.
