National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named NatWest Group in 2020. Following ringfencing of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of NatWest Holdings; NatWest Markets comprises the non-ringfenced investment banking arm. NatWest International is a trading name of RBS International, which also sits outside the ringfence.
Between 2008 and 2025, the UK government held a stake in NatWest Group following its £45 billion ($61.87 billion) bailout of the lender which led to it owning 84% at one point. The bank returned to full private ownership on 30 May 2025 after 17 years.
NatWest is considered one of the Big Four clearing banks in the UK, and it has a large network of over 526 branches and 5,500 cash machines across Great Britain and Ireland and offers 24-hour Actionline telephone and online banking services. As of 2025, according to the company's own statements, it serves around 19 million customers, including 2.4 million youth customers. In Northern Ireland, it owns and operates the Ulster Bank brand.
History
Early history (1658–1970s) The bank's origins date back to 1658 with the foundation of Smith's Bank of Nottingham.Samuel Smith & Co (Nottingham) NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020) Its oldest direct corporate ancestor, National Provincial Bank, was formed in 1833 as the National Provincial Bank of England. It merged with Union of London and Smith's Bank in 1918 to become National Provincial and Union Bank, shortening its name in 1924.National Provincial Bank NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020) District Bank (formed in 1829 as the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company) was acquired by National Provincial in 1962 and allowed to operate under its own name.District Bank NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020) Westminster Bank was formed in 1834 as London and Westminster Bank. It merged with London and County Bank in 1909 to become London County and Westminster Bank and with Parr's Bank in 1918 to become London County Westminster and Parrs Bank, shortening its name in 1923.Westminster Bank NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020)
The creation of the modern National Westminister Bank was announced in 1968 and commenced trading on 1 January 1970 after the statutory process of integration had been completed by the (c. xxii).National Westminster Bank Act 1969 and (SI 1969/1705); registered in England and Wales under the Companies Act 1985, No. 929027 The three arrowheads device was adopted as the new bank's logo; according to the design firm, the logo represents the bank's three integrated constituents. The District, National Provincial and Westminster banks were fully integrated in the new firm's structure, but private bankers Coutts & Co (a 1920 National Provincial acquisition, established 1692), Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland (a 1917 Westminster acquisition, established 1836) and the Isle of Man Bank (a 1961 National Provincial acquisition, established 1865) continued as separate operations. Westminster Foreign Bank (established 1913) was restyled International Westminster Bank in 1973. Duncan Stirling, outgoing chairman of Westminster Bank, became first chairman of the fifth-largest bank in the world.Mosley, Charles (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (107th ed.) vol.1 (p.1233) Burke's Peerage and Gentry, Wilmington, 2003 In 1969 David Robarts, former chairman of National Provincial, assumed Stirling's position.Hast, Adele (ed.) Company History: National Westminster Bank International Directory of Company Histories (vol.2) St. James Press, Chicago, 1988 In 1975, it was one of the first London banks to open a representative office in Scotland. It was a founder member of the Joint Credit Card Company (with Lloyds Bank, Midland Bank and Williams & Glyn's Bank) which launched the Access credit card (now part of Mastercard) in 1972 and in 1976 it introduced the Servicetill cash machine. The same banks, excluding Lloyds, were later responsible for the introduction of the Switch debit card (later branded Maestro) in 1988.History of Plastic Cards The Association for Payment Clearing Services, 9 January 2006
Expansion (1980s)
Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in the Big Bang in 1986, also encouraged the bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, its merchant banking subsidiary formed in 1965, acquired various stockbroking and jobbing firms to create the investment banking arm County NatWest. National Westminster Home Loans was established in 1980 and other initiatives included the launch of the Piggy Account for children in 1983, the Credit Zone, a flexible overdraft facility on which customers only pay interest (now commonplace, this so-called pink debt was innovative when launched) and the development of the Mondex electronic purse (later sold to MasterCard Worldwide) in 1990.Srivastava, Lara and Mansell, Robin Electronic Cash and the Innovation Process: A User Paradigm Electronic Working Papers Series, no.23 (p.5) University of Sussex, Science Policy Research Unit, March 1998 The Action Bank advertising campaign spearheaded a new marketing-led approach to business development. Under the direction of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, who became chairman in 1977, the bank also expanded internationally, forming National Westminster Bancorp in the United States of America with a network of 340 branches across two states, National Westminster Bank of Canada and NatWest Australia Bank; and opening branches on the European continent and in the Far East.National Westminster Bank NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020) In 1982, the Frankfurt office of International Westminster Bank merged with Global Bank AG to form Deutsche Westminster Bank. In 1985, Banco NatWest España was formed and National Westminster Bank SA was incorporated in 1988, taking over the bank's six branches in France and Monaco. In 1989, International Westminster Bank was merged into National Westminster Bank by Act of Parliament.International Westminster Bank NatWest Group, Heritage Hub (retrieved 19 August 2020)
Completed in 1980, the bank built the National Westminster Tower (now known as Tower 42) in London to serve as its international headquarters. At a height of 600 feet (183 m) it was the tallest building in the UK until the topping-out of Canary Wharf Tower 10 years later; its footprint loosely approximating the bank's logo when viewed from the air,Goodway, Nick Outdated and second best, its time for the fall of Tower 42 , Evening Standard, 15 April 2010 although the architect claimed the similarity was coincidence. Also worthy of note is National Westminster House (since renamed as 103 Colmore Row) in Birmingham: the building was sold to British Land in 2007 and demolished in 2015.
Controversy (1980s–1990s) The bank was hit by the stock market crash of 1987 and involvement in the collapse of Blue Arrow. The Department of Trade and Industry report on the affair was critical of the bank's management and resulted in the resignation of several members of the board, including then-chairman Lord Boardman.Stanley, Christopher Cultural Contradictions in the Legitimation of Market Practice: Paradox in the Regulation of the City in Budd, Leslie and Whimster, Sam (eds.) Global Finance and Urban Living: A Study of Metropolitan Change (pp.158–160) Routledge, London, 1992 Later, the bank would divest its overseas subsidiaries. The North American operations were sold to Fleet Bank and Hong Kong Bank of Canada, and the Australian and New Zealand branches were sold to Salomon Smith Barney and the National Australia Bank. Thereafter the bank concentrated on its core domestic business as the restyled NatWest Group, reflecting its modern positioning as a portfolio of businesses.National Westminster Bank loses fight for independence BBC World Service, broadcast 25 February 2000 In the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing, the NatWest Tower was devastated by a Provisional IRA bomb and the bank vacated the building and later sold it.De Baróid, Ciarán Ballymurphy and the Irish War (p.325) Pluto Press, London, 2000 Then, in 1997, NatWest Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm formed in 1992, revealed that a £50 million ($67.75 million) loss had been discovered, revised to £90.5 million ($122.62 million) after further investigations. Investor and shareholder confidence was so badly shaken that the Bank of England had to instruct the board of directors to resist calls for the resignation of its most senior executives in an effort to draw a line under the affair. The bank's internal controls and risk management were severely criticised in 2000 and its aggressive push into investment banking questioned, after a lengthy investigation by the Securities and Futures Authority.SFA Disciplines NatWest and Two Individuals Financial Services Authority, 18 May 2000 The bank's move into complicated derivative products that it did not fully understand seemed to indicate poor management. By the end of 1997 parts of NatWest Markets had been sold, others becoming Greenwich NatWest in 1998.Natwest Group Announces £1,011m Profit for 1997 PR Newswire Europe, 1998 It had purchased Gleacher Partners in 1996 for $135 million only to resell it back to GP's founder for just $4 million 3 years later in 1999.
Takeover (1990s–2000s)
In 1999, the chairman, Lord Alexander of Weedon, announced a merger with Legal & General in a friendly £10.7 billion deal, the first between a bank and an insurance company in UK history.Buckingham, Lisa et al. NatWest pounces on L&G with £11bn takeover bid The Guardian, 3 September 1999 The move was poorly received in the London financial markets and NatWest's share price fell substantially.Treanor, Jill and Buckingham, Lisa NatWest forced to defend merger The Guardian, 7 September 1999 Seen as a driver of the ill-advised investment banking expansion, Derek Wanless was forced to resign as chief executive following the appointment of Sir David Rowland (who became executive chairman). Also in 1999, in response to the much reduced NatWest market capitalisation, the much smaller Bank of Scotland made a hostile takeover bid for NatWest. The Bank of Scotland's aim was to break up the NatWest Group and dispose of its non-retail assets. NatWest was forced to abandon its merger, but refused to agree to a takeover by a rival bank.NatWest rejects takeover bid The Guardian, 24 September 1999 The Royal Bank of Scotland tabled another hostile offer, of £21 billion, outbidding the Bank of Scotland.Farrelly, Paul RBS issues ultimatum in £27bn bid for NatWest , The Observer, 28 November 1999 The takeover of NatWest in early 2000 was the biggest in UK history. Once Britain's most profitable bank, it was delisted from the London Stock Exchange and became, with its subsidiaries, component parts of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.Treanor, Jill NatWest runs up white flag , The Guardian, 12 February 2000 The outcome of this bitter struggle set the tone for a round of consolidation in the financial sector as it prepared for a new age of fierce global competition. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group became the second-largest bank in the UK and Europe (after HSBC) and the fifth-largest in the world by market capitalisation. According to Forbes Global 2000, it was then the 13th-largest company in the world.DeCarlo, Scott (ed.) The World's 2,000 Largest Public Companies , Forbes, Special Report, 29 March 2007 NatWest was retained as a distinct brand with its own banking licence, but many back office functions were merged with those of the Royal Bank, leading to over 18,000 job losses.
Attempted divestment (2008–2017)