Natwest: Shares in FTSE 100 giant smash decade high
Shares in banking giant Natwest notched a ten-year high on Thursday as the government continued to whittle down its stake in the lender.
The FTSE 100 giant’s stock was up nearly one per cent during mid-day trading and touched highs of 498.8p.
Natwest shares are up nearly 24 per cent since the beginning of 2025 and over 50 per cent over in the last year.
The gains came as the government reduced its stake to 0.9 per cent in the group with the lender expected to return to full private ownership in the near future.
The government’s stake dates back to the 2008 Financial Crisis where it injected £45.5bn into Natwest Group, then the Royal Bank of Scotland, after it required a bailout to surivive.
Amidst the fallout, the firm’s shares tanked 96 per cent within two years. It’s pre-financial crisis share price high of 5236.28p continues to dwarf new stock records.
A Natwest Group spokesperson said: “Returning the bank to full private ownership is an ambition we share with the government, and one that we believe is in the interests of all our shareholders.
“We welcome the progress that the Treasury continues to make, having reduced its shareholding in the bank from nearly 40 per cent in December 2023 to below one per cent today.”
Reeves’ stamp duty changes boosted Natwest’s profit
The lender benefited from a rush to beat Chancellor Rachel Reeves newly imposed stamp duty deadline to beat profit expectations in the first quarter.
The firm booked £1.8bn in pre-tax profit, surpassing analyst consensus of £1.6bn.
Thus was driven by a £3.4bn increase in net loans to customers as mortgage lending surged.
Reeves changed zero rate thresholds from 31 March for main residences, which dropped from £250,000 to £125,000 with first-time homebuyer thresholds dropping from £425,000 to £300,000.
Natwest’s net interest margin – a key metric for a banks profitability from lending – expanded eight basis points from the end of 2024 to 2.27 per cent.
Whilst US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught on ‘Liberation Day’ narrowly missed the first quarter, Natwest followed suit with FTSE 100 peers HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds in making provisions.
Expected credit loss increased by £100m to £3.5bn.
The firm said: “We retain post model adjustments of £300m related to economic uncertainty, or 8.7 per cent of total impairment provisions.”
Shares had slumped to a low of 411.20p amidst the tariff fallout.