The UK government is no longer the largest shareholder of NatWest Bank (NWG.US) and will fully exit in the second quarter.

NatWest (NWG.US) released a statement indicating that the UK government's stake has dropped to 5.93%. This will make its stake behind BlackRock, Inc., whose stake is 6.4%. After rescuing the bank for over sixteen years, the UK government is no longer the largest shareholder of NatWest Group Plc. This is the first time since the October 2008 bailout that the UK is no longer the largest investor in NatWest Bank, even though since March last year, the British government has not been considered the controlling shareholder of the bank. "The full privatization of the bank is our shared desire with the government, and it is also in the interests of all our stakeholders," NatWest stated in a release. "We welcome the progress made by the Treasury." Since December 2023, the government has rapidly reduced its stake in NatWest through a series of public market sales and targeted repurchases, when it held a stake of 38%. Since the beginning of last year, the company's share price has risen by over 100%, far exceeding the FTSE All-Share Index's 12% increase. The UK government is soon to sell off all of its NatWest shares, which were acquired during the 2008 financial crisis through a rescue plan. The bank's CEO, Paul Thwaite, stated that the second quarter will be a reasonable timeline for a complete exit.