National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
and
commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
based in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England. It was established in 1968 by the
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
of
National Provincial Bank
National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was vo ...
and
Westminster Bank
Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1834 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it continued to exist as a dormant registered non-trading company until 4 July 2017 when it ...
. In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named
NatWest Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
in 2020. Following
ringfencing In business and finance, ringfencing or ring-fencing occurs when a portion of a company's assets or profits are financially separated without necessarily being operated as a separate entity. This might be for:
* regulatory reasons
* creating asset ...
of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of
NatWest Holdings
NatWest Holdings is an intermediate holding company for the NatWest Group's retail banking interests in the United Kingdom.
It was established in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Financial Se ...
;
NatWest Markets
NatWest Markets is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group.
It was created from the then RBS Group's corporate and institutional banking division in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Finan ...
comprises the non-ringfenced
investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
arm. The British government currently owns around 48.1%,
previously 54.7% of NatWest Group after spending £45 billion ($61.87 billion) bailing out the lender in 2008.
NatWest is considered one of the
Big Four clearing banks in the UK, and it has a large network of over 960
branches
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...
and 3,400
cash machines
An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...
across
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and offers 24-hour ''Actionline'' telephone and
online banking
Online banking, also known as internet banking, web banking or home banking, is an electronic payment system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial inst ...
services. Today, it has more than 7.5 million personal customers and 850,000 small business accounts. In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, it operates through its
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank ( ga, Banc Uladh) is a large retail bank, and one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank, trading as Ulster Bank (registere ...
brand. In 2017, NatWest was awarded Best Banking App in the British Bank Awards.
History
The bank's origins date back to 1658 with the foundation of
Smith's Bank
Smith's Bank was a series of English banking partnerships in London and the provinces, all controlled by the Smith family that operated between 1658 and 1918. Although Smith's Bank was never a single entity, the first bank was established in N ...
of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. Its oldest direct corporate ancestor,
National Provincial Bank
National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was vo ...
, 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.
District Bank
The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank was formed in 1829 and it became one of the leading provincial joint stock banks; its name was shortened to District Bank in 1924. The Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1962 but kept ...
(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.
Westminster Bank
Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1834 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it continued to exist as a dormant registered non-trading company until 4 July 2017 when it ...
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.
The creation of the modern bank was announced in 1968 and commenced trading on 1 January 1970 after the statutory process of integration had been completed in 1969. The three arrowheads device was adopted as the new bank's logo; it is said to symbolise either the circulation of money in the financial system or the bank's three constituents. The District, National Provincial and Westminster banks were fully integrated in the new firm's structure, but private bankers
Coutts & Co
Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...
(a 1920 National Provincial acquisition, established 1692),
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank ( ga, Banc Uladh) is a large retail bank, and one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank, trading as Ulster Bank (registere ...
in Northern Ireland (a 1917 Westminster acquisition, established 1836) and the
Isle of Man Bank
The Isle of Man Bank is a bank in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, providing retail, private and business banking services to the local population. Incorporated in 1865, it has operated as a trading name of RBS International si ...
(a 1961 National Provincial acquisition, established 1865) continued as separate operations. Westminster Foreign Bank (established 1913) was restyled
International Westminster Bank
International Westminster Bank was a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Westminster Bank and its predecessors from 1913 to 1989, with branches in London, France, Spain and West Germany.
At the peak of its operations during the 1980s, the bank ...
in 1973. Duncan Stirling, outgoing chairman of Westminster Bank, became first chairman of the fifth largest bank in the world. In 1969 David Robarts, former chairman of National Provincial, assumed Stirling's position. In 1975 it was one of the first London banks to open a representative office in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It was a founder member of the Joint Credit Card Company (with
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
,
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...
and
Williams & Glyn's Bank
Williams & Glyn's Bank Limited was established in London in 1970, when the Royal Bank of Scotland merged its two subsidiaries in England and Wales, Williams Deacon's Bank Ltd. and Glyn, Mills & Co. In 1985, Williams & Glyn's was fully absorbed ...
) which launched the
Access
Access may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network
* Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom
* Access Co., a Japanese software company
* Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...
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
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
debit card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...
(later branded
Maestro
Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...
) in 1988.
Expansion
![NatWest Castle Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/NatWest_Castle_Street.jpg)
Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in the
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
in 1986, also encouraged the bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, its
merchant bank
A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...
ing subsidiary formed in 1965, acquired various
stockbroking
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and ...
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
Mondex was a smart card electronic cash system, implemented as a stored-value card and owned by Mastercard.
Pioneered by two bankers from NatWest in 1990, it was spun-off to a separate consortium later on, then sold again to Mastercard.
Mond ...
electronic purse
Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...
(later sold to MasterCard Worldwide) in 1990. ''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
National Westminster Bank of Canada (french: Banque National Westminster du Canada), commonly known as NatWest Canada, was a wholly owned subsidiary of National Westminster Bank, a global integrated financial service group based in the United Kin ...
and NatWest Australia Bank; and opening branches on the European continent and in the Far East. In 1982, the
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
office of International Westminster Bank merged with Global Bank AG to form Deutsche Westminster Bank. In 1985,
Banco NatWest España
Sabadell Solbank was a Spanish bank owned by Banco de Sabadell, which focussed on retail banking for Europeans living in the coastal areas of southern Spain. In 2014, it was fully integrated into the parent company.
History 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
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. In 1989, International Westminster Bank was merged into National Westminster Bank by Act of Parliament.
![Tower 42 looking north from Bishopsgate_2011-05-04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Tower_42_looking_north_from_Bishopsgate_2011-05-04.jpg)
Completed in 1980, the bank built the National Westminster Tower (now known as
Tower 42
Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a skyscraper in the City of London. It is the fifth-tallest tower in the City of London, having been overtaken as the tallest in 2010 by the Heron Tower. It is the fifteenth- tallest in Lond ...
) 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, although the architect claimed the similarity was coincidence. Also worthy of note is
National Westminster House
103 Colmore Row is a 108-metre tall, 26-storey commercial office skyscraper located on Colmore Row, Birmingham, England. Completed in 2021, this building replaced the former NatWest Tower designed by John Madin and completed in 1975. In 2008, a ...
(since renamed as 103 Colmore Row) in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
: the building was sold to
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...
in 2007 and demolished in 2015.
Controversy
The bank was hit by the
stock market crash of 1987
Black Monday is the name commonly given to the global, sudden, severe, and largely unexpected stock market crash on Monday, October 19, 1987. In Australia and New Zealand, the day is also referred to as ''Black Tuesday'' because of the time z ...
and involvement in the collapse of
Blue Arrow
Blue Arrow Limited is a United Kingdom based employment and recruitment agency that places individual jobseekers in temporary and/or permanent catering, driving industrial and office roles across the hospitality, manufacturing, public service, ...
. 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
Thomas Gray Boardman, Baron Boardman, (12 January 1919 – 10 March 2003) was a British Army tank commander, Conservative politician, cabinet minister and chairman of National Westminster Bank Plc.
Early life
Thomas Gray Boardman was born ...
. Later, the bank would divest its overseas subsidiaries. The North American operations were sold to
Fleet Bank
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America.
History ...
and
Hong Kong Bank of Canada, and the Australian and New Zealand branches were sold to
Salomon Smith Barney
Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and the most profitable firm on Wall Street durin ...
and the
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...
. Thereafter the bank concentrated on its core domestic business as the restyled NatWest Group, reflecting its modern positioning as a portfolio of businesses. In 1993, the
NatWest Tower
Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a skyscraper in the City of London. It is the fifth-tallest tower in the City of London, having been overtaken as the tallest in 2010 by the Heron Tower. It is the fifteenth- tallest in Lond ...
was devastated by a
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
bomb and the bank vacated the building and later sold it. Then, in 1997,
NatWest Markets
NatWest Markets is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group.
It was created from the then RBS Group's corporate and institutional banking division in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Finan ...
, the corporate and
investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
arm formed in 1992, revealed that a £50m loss had been discovered, revised to £90.5m after further investigations. Investor and shareholder confidence was so badly shaken that the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
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. 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
NatWest Markets is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group.
It was created from the then RBS Group's corporate and institutional banking division in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Finan ...
in 1998.
Takeover
![Oldtownhall 766](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Oldtownhall_766.JPG)
In 1999, the chairman,
Lord Alexander of Weedon
Robert Scott Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, KC, FRSA (5 September 1936— 6 November 2005) was a British barrister, banker and Conservative politician.
Education
He was educated at Brighton College (of which he was later President) and ...
, announced a merger with
Legal & General
Legal & General Group plc, commonly known as Legal & General, is a British multinational financial services and asset management company headquartered in London, England. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortg ...
in a friendly £10.7 billion deal, the first between a
bank and an insurance company in UK history. The move was poorly received in the London financial markets and NatWest's share price fell substantially. Seen as a driver of the ill-advised investment banking expansion,
Derek Wanless
Sir Derek Wanless (29 September 1947 – 22 May 2012) was an English banker and an adviser to the Labour Party.
Biography
Derek Wanless was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he was educated at the Royal Grammar School. From 1967 to 19 ...
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
The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
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. The
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
tabled another hostile offer and trumped the Bank of Scotland with a £21 billion bid. 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
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and became, with its subsidiaries, component parts of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. 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
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
) and the fifth largest in the world by
market capitalisation
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
. According to
Forbes Global 2000
The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
, it was then the 13th largest company in the world. NatWest was retained as a distinct brand with its own
banking licence
A banking licence is a legal prerequisite for a financial institution that wants to carry on a banking business. Under the laws of most jurisdictions, a business is not permitted to carry words like a ''bank'', ''insurance'', ''national'' in th ...
, but many back office functions were merged with those of the Royal Bank, leading to over 18,000 job losses.
Attempted divestment
In 2008, it was announced that
HM Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...
would take a stake of up to 58% in the Royal Bank of Scotland in a move aimed at recapitalising the group.
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
subscribed for £5 billion in preference shares and underwrote the issuance of £15bn of new ordinary shares offered to RBS shareholders and new institutional shareholders at the fixed price of 65.5p. As a consequence of the mismanagement which necessitated this rescue, the chief executive,
Fred Goodwin
Frederick Anderson Goodwin FRSE FCIBS (born 17 August 1958) is a Scottish chartered accountant and former banker who was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) between 2001 and 2009.
From 2000 to 2008, he pre ...
(who secured the takeover of NatWest), offered his resignation, which was duly accepted. Chairman
Tom McKillop
Sir Thomas Fulton Wilson McKillop, FRS, FRSE (born 19 March 1943) is a Scottish chemist, who was CEO of AstraZeneca PLC from 1999 until 2006 and chairman of the RBS Group from 2006 until 2008.
Early life
McKillop was born in Dreghorn, a small ...
also confirmed he would stand down from that role when his contract expired in 2009. Goodwin was replaced by
Stephen Hester
Stephen A. M. Hester (born 14 December 1960) is an international businessman and former banker. He is Chairman of Nordea Bank and easyJet and former chief executive officer (CEO) of RSA Insurance Group, of RBS Group and of British Land.
Early ...
, previously chief executive of
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...
.
In 2009, the RBS Group announced that it would divest all 311 RBS branches in England and Wales (known as Williams & Glyn's until 1985) together with the seven NatWest branches in Scotland as a standalone business, to comply with
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
state aid requirements. In August 2010, it was announced that the branches would be sold to
Santander UK
Santander UK plc (, ) is a British bank, wholly owned by the Spanish Santander Group. Santander UK plc manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance.
Santander UK is one of the le ...
, along with the accounts of 1.8 million personal customers and 244,000 SME customers. Santander withdrew from the sale in October 2012. On 27 September 2013, the RBS Group confirmed it had agreed to sell 308 RBS branches in England and Wales and 6 NatWest branches in Scotland to the Corsair consortium. This figure was reduced to 307 by May 2015. The branches were to have been separated from the group in 2016 as a standalone business operating under the previously dormant
Williams & Glyn's brand.
In August 2016, RBS cancelled its plan to spin off Williams & Glyn as a separate business, stating that the new bank could not survive independently. It revealed it would instead seek to sell the division to another bank. In February 2017, HM Treasury and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement in which RBS would be able to retain the Williams & Glyn assets in return for investing £750 million into a fund aimed at increasing SME lending by challenger banks and for RBS agreeing to allow SME customers of challenger banks to use its branch network for cash and cheque handling.
The European Commission confirmed in April 2017 that it would scrutinise the proposal.
Recent developments
On 20 March 2017, the British paper ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
-related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by an investigation named
Global Laundromat
The Russian Laundromat was a scheme to move $20–80 billion out of Russia from 2010 to 2014 through a network of global banks, many of them in Moldova and Latvia. The ''Guardian'' reported that around 500 people were suspected of being inv ...
. NatWest was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were “facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers,” as the bank processed $1.1 million in Laundromat cash. Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
, the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
,
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
,
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
and
Coutts
Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...
.
On 3 May 2021, the business of Ulster Bank Limited in Northern Ireland was transferred to National Westminster Bank as part of a court-approved Banking Business Transfer Scheme.
Structure
![The Old Court House Ruthin Wales](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/The_Old_Court_House_Ruthin_Wales.jpg)
NatWest Group operates internationally through its four principal subsidiaries:
NatWest Holdings
NatWest Holdings is an intermediate holding company for the NatWest Group's retail banking interests in the United Kingdom.
It was established in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Financial Se ...
which owns The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC;
NatWest Markets
NatWest Markets is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group.
It was created from the then RBS Group's corporate and institutional banking division in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Finan ...
; NatWest Markets N.V.; and The
Royal Bank of Scotland International
The Royal Bank of Scotland International, trading under the NatWest, NatWest International (retail), RBS International (institutional), Coutts & Co., Coutts Crown Dependencies (wealth management) and Isle of Man Bank brands, is the offshore ban ...
. The NatWest sub-group of companies comprises National Westminster Bank and its subsidiary and associated undertakings. , the principal subsidiary undertakings of NatWest are:
*
Coutts
Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...
& Co.
*
Nordisk Renting
Nordisk is a Scandinavian word meaning Nordic.
It is commonly found in the names of various entities and organizations based in the Nordic countries, including:
* Nordisk Copyright Bureau, Danish copyright collecting society
* Nordisk Film, Danis ...
*
Lombard North Central
Lombard North Central, trading as Lombard, is a finance company specialising in asset based lending. It is one of the largest finance houses in the United Kingdom and part of the ring-fenced business of NatWest Group. The company started life h ...
Structurally, National Westminster Bank was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group until 2003, when ownership of the bank's entire issued ordinary share capital was transferred to The Royal Bank of Scotland as holding company, with RBS Group functioning as ultimate holding company. At the same time the entire issued share capital of
Lombard North Central
Lombard North Central, trading as Lombard, is a finance company specialising in asset based lending. It is one of the largest finance houses in the United Kingdom and part of the ring-fenced business of NatWest Group. The company started life h ...
was transferred by the bank to the holding company, transferring back to NatWest in 2017. Ownership of National Westminster Home Loans was passed to the holding company in 2005; however, the mortgage portfolio and related funding were also transferred back to NatWest in 2012. In 2000, the bank transferred National Westminster Life Assurance to RBS Life Investments, effectively establishing the business as a joint venture between the Group and
Norwich Union
Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
On 29 April 2008, Aviva a ...
. In 2018, ownership of both NatWest and the Royal Bank transferred to NatWest Holdings and NatWest became the main provider of shared services and Treasury activities for the RBS Group. On 14 February 2020, it was announced that RBS Group would be renamed NatWest Group later that year, taking the brand under which the majority of its business was delivered. The change became effective on 22 July.
![NatWest, Saint Hélyi, Jèrri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/NatWest%2C_Saint_H%C3%A9lyi%2C_J%C3%A8rri.jpg)
The following have served as chairmen of National Westminster Bank:
The office is currently held ''ex officio'' by the chair of NatWest Group.
Services
![NatWest Bank, Camden Town - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/NatWest_Bank%2C_Camden_Town_-_geograph.org.uk_-_776577.jpg)
NatWest provide a full range of banking and insurance services to personal, business and commercial customers, including the first dedicated bank account in Britain to be delivered and supported entirely in the
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
. The bank has won Your Mortgage Magazine's Best Bank for Mortgages award 13 times in the last 17 years, more than any other lender.
Operating under the name Esme Loans, NatWest provides a digital lending platform for SMEs also available to customers not banking with NatWest or RBS. Esme Loans commenced trading on 17 February 2017, after being founded out of the bank's new product development programme NatWest Innovation Cell by Richard Kerton, Veronika Lovett, and Lucy Hasson.
The bank operates "mobile branches" using converted vans to serve rural areas around St Austell, Swansea, Carlisle, Devon and North Wales. The service allows to customers to carry out banking transactions in remote areas where there is no branch. NatWest reintroduced the mobile service in Cornwall in 2005, after HSBC ended its own version due to costs.
In 2006, the then RBS Group undertook the first trial of
PayPass contactless debit and credit cards in Europe. In 2019, a NatWest pilot project was the first in the UK to trial debit cards containing fingerprint authentication technology developed by Dutch company,
Gemalto
Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplus In ...
.
The bank participates fully in the
Faster Payments Service
The Faster Payments Service (FPS) is a United Kingdom banking initiative to reduce payment times between different banks' customer accounts to typically a few seconds, from the three working days that transfers usually take using the long-estab ...
, an initiative to speed up certain payments, launched in 2008. The bank established credit and debit card payment handling company Streamline in 1989, which was merged into
Worldpay Group
Worldpay Group plc (formerly RBS WorldPay) was a Payment Service Provider, payment processing company. It was acquired by FIS (company), FIS in July 2019 for $43 billion. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 16 January 2018 when it ...
in 2009. The NatWest Mobile Banking app is available to personal account holders over the age of 11 with online banking, a debit card and UK mobile telephone number (beginning 07). The Emergency Cash service gives access to cash without a debit card from NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank cash machines.
NatWest is a member of the
Cheque and Credit Clearing Company
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited (C&CCC) is a UK membership-based industry body whose 11 members are the UK clearing banks. The company has managed the cheque clearing system in England and Wales since 1985, in all of Great Britain ...
,
Bankers' Automated Clearing Services, the
Clearing House Automated Payment System
Chaps ( or ) are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers, they have no seat (the term "assless chaps" is a tautology) and are not jo ...
and the
LINK Interchange Network. The bank is authorised by the
Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...
and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or l ...
,
UK Payments Administration
The UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA) is a United Kingdom service company that provides people, facilities and expertise to the UK payments industry.
UKPA was created on 6 July 2009, as a successor of the Association for Payment Clearing Ser ...
and of the
British Bankers' Association
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) was a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector. From 1 July 2017, it was merged into UK Finance.
It represented members from a wide range of banking and financial services. The asso ...
; and it subscribes to the
Lending Code
The Standards of Lending Practice (previously the Lending Code) are voluntary and set the benchmark for good lending practice in the United Kingdom, outlining the way registered firms are expected to deal with their customers throughout the entire ...
.
Mortgages
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
, available in England, Scotland and Wales only, are provided by National Westminster Home Loans, a member of the
Council of Mortgage Lenders
The Council of Mortgage Lenders was an industry body representing mortgage lenders in the United Kingdom.
Its members consisted of banks, building societies and specialist lenders and represented 95% of mortgage lending in the UK.
In November 2 ...
,
The
NatWest One account is a secured personal account with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
NatWest Insurance Services acts as intermediary and broker for general insurance, policies are underwritten by UK Insurance Limited. Life Protector and Guaranteed Bond products are provided by National Westminster Life Assurance.
RBS International
The Royal Bank of Scotland International, trading under the NatWest International (retail), RBS International (institutional), Coutts Crown Dependencies (wealth management) and Isle of Man Bank brands, is the offshore banking arm of NatWest Gr ...
trades as NatWest International in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
,
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
, the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. In 2010, RBS Intermediary Partners was renamed NatWest Intermediary Solutions.
National Westminster Bank use the following series of six digit
sorting codes formatted into three pairs separated by hyphens:
International Bank Account Number
The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is an internationally agreed system of identifying bank accounts across national borders to facilitate the communication and processing of cross border transactions with a reduced risk of transcription ...
s take the form GBxx NWBK ssss ssaa aaaa aa, where ''x'' refers to two
check digit
A check digit is a form of redundancy check used for error detection on identification numbers, such as bank account numbers, which are used in an application where they will at least sometimes be input manually. It is analogous to a binary parity ...
s, ''s'' to the branch sort code and ''a'' to the individual account number. The
Bank Identifier Code
ISO 9362 is an international standard for Business Identifier Codes (BIC), a unique identifier for business institutions, approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). BIC is also known as SWIFT-BIC, SWIFT ID, or SWIFT code, ...
, or
SWIFT
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
code, for NatWest (and
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
Bank) is NWBKGB2L (8 digits) or NWBKGB2Lxxx (11 digits).
Bó, a standalone digital banking app with the aim of helping people save more money was launched in November 2019 and discontinued in May 2020.
Mettle is an e-money business account provided by Prepay Solutions, a trading name of Prepay Technologies Ltd.
NatWest also entered the merchant acquiring market by introducing Tyl in 2019. The proposition includes next business day settlement for card transactions.
Controversy
Litigation
The so-called
NatWest Three
The NatWest Three, also known as the Enron Three, are three British businessmen – Giles Darby, David Bermingham and Gary Mulgrew. In 2002 they were indicted in Houston, Texas on seven counts of wire fraud against their former employer Greenwich ...
—Giles Darby, David Bermingham and Gary Mulgrew—were extradited to the United States in 2006 on charges relating to a transaction with
Enron Corporation
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. B ...
in 2000 while they were working for Greenwich NatWest. It has been argued that the alleged crime was committed by British citizens living in the UK against a British company based in London and therefore, any resulting criminal case falls under the jurisdiction of the English courts. However, the
Serious Fraud Office decided not to prosecute due to lack of evidence. There has been criticism that the Americans do not have to produce a prima facie case, or even a reasonable one, to extradite British citizens, whereas no such facility exists to extradite US citizens to the UK. On 28 November 2007 the three admitted one charge of
wire fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...
after a
plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
. On 22 February 2008 they were each sentenced to 37 months in prison.
Following discussions between the
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic ...
, the
Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based bus ...
, the
Financial Services Authority
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the financial regulation, regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investmen ...
and the major banks, proceedings were issued on 27 July 2007 in a
test case
In software engineering, a test case is a specification of the inputs, execution conditions, testing procedure, and expected results that define a single test to be executed to achieve a particular software testing objective, such as to exercise ...
against the banks to determine the legality and enforceability of certain charges relating to unauthorised overdrafts. It is argued that these are contrary to the
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999SI 1999/2083 is an old UK statutory instrument, which had implemented the EU (then EEC) Unfair Consumer Contract Terms Directivebr>93/13/EECinto domestic law.Implemented under the European Co ...
; Schedule 2(e) of which gives a non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term requiring a consumer who fails in his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
. The precedent for this was ''
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. v New Garage and Motor Co. Ltd.''
915
Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...
AC 79 along with ''Murray v Leisure Play''
005
''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...
EWCA Civ 963, where it was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. The RBS Group maintained that its charges were fair and enforceable and stated it intended to defend its position vigorously. On 24 April 2008, the
High Court found that although these charges could not constitute penalties, they are challengeable under the
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977c 50 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates contracts by restricting the operation and legality of some contract terms. It extends to nearly all forms of contract and one of its most impor ...
and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. On 26 February 2009, the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
ruled that fees for unauthorised overdrafts and bounced cheques are subject to regulation by the OFT under these rules.
In September 2009, NatWest announced dramatic cuts in their overdraft fees. The unpaid item fee was reduced to £5 from £38 and the card misuse fee was reduced from £35 to £15. The cuts came at a time when the row over the legality of unauthorised borrowing, estimated to earn current account providers about £2.6bn a year, had reached the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.
Computer failures
In late June 2012, the group suffered a major computer malfunction, resulting in some customers' account balances not updating correctly. Completions of some new home purchases were delayed, customers were stranded abroad, and one man was held in prison. As a result of the error, RBS and NatWest announced that over 1,200 of their busiest branches would extend their hours throughout the week, including the bank's first Sunday opening, to enable the customers affected to access cash.
On 25 June, over 1,000 branches opened for extended hours,
[ and the number of phone staff was doubled.]
Some customers also reported problems with direct debits and standing orders being returned unpaid due to their account balances not updating correctly. However, RBS stated in an announcement that they would work directly with the receiving banks and companies to ensure that all payments were processed. As a result of the system outage, RBS also announced that they would work with credit rating agencies directly to ensure no customer's credit file was permanently impacted. They also announced that no customer would be permanently out of pocket because of the system outage, and launched a dedicated new freephone helpline for the incident, as well as an online help point to guide and advise customers with any queries they had during the outage.
In December 2013, a similar computer failure led to a number of customers being unable to use NatWest card services to pay for goods. This second major outage of services fell on what is known as Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is a marketing term for e-commerce transactions on the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online. The term was coined by Ellen Davis of the National Retail Fe ...
, when major retailers discount goods to boost Christmas shopping. The Group chief executive at the time conceded that the bank would have "to do better".
Money laundering conviction
In December 2021, the bank was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court
Westminster Magistrates' Court is a magistrates' court at 181 Marylebone Road, London. The Chief Magistrate of England and Wales, who is the Senior District Judge of England and Wales, sits at the court, and all extradition and terrorism-rela ...
of three counts of failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, marking the first time that the Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...
had pursued criminal charges against a financial institution for money laundering failings. Natwest pled guilty to the three counts, which concerned a jewelers, Fowler Oldfield, depositing £365m between 2012 and 2016 of which £264m was in cash, despite predicted annual turnover of £15m. FCA lawyers stated that large volumes of cash were deposited in black bin bags, and that the quantity of notes failed to fit within the branch vaults.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Financial Conduct Authority said "'NatWest is responsible for a catalogue of failures in the way it monitored and scrutinised transactions that were self-evidently suspicious. Combined with serious systems failures, like the treatment of cash deposits as cheques, these failures created an open door for money laundering."
Sponsorship
The name NatWest has been associated with cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
tournaments held in England. From 1981 until 2000, the bank was the title sponsor of English domestic cricket's main limited overs
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...
knockout tournament, which was known as the NatWest Trophy
The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class cricket, first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scott ...
during that period. Between 2000 and 2013, the NatWest Series
The NatWest Series is the name used for One Day International cricket tournaments held in England since 2000. The tournaments are sponsored by the National Westminster Bank.
2000 to 2005: triangular series
The original format of the NatWest Seri ...
was an annual one-day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...
tournament involving England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and two visiting international teams. NatWest were also a main sponsor of the 1999 Cricket World Cup
The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...
, held in England. Since May 2017, it has been the shirt sponsor for the England men's and women's cricket teams.
The bank also sponsored England's Test series against Pakistan in 2018.
NatWest is sponsor of the Southern Paintball League, the leading competitive paintball series in the south of England.
NatWest was the main sponsor of the Island Games
The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...
(known at the time as the NatWest Island Games) from 1999 through to 2019.
''NatWest CommunityForce'' is "a platform that empowers local projects and charities to raise awareness of their work and make their plans a reality with the support of NatWest and their local community."
See also
* ''Nestle v National Westminster Bank plc
''Nestle v National Westminster Bank plc'' 992EWCA Civ 12is an English trusts law case concerning the duty of care when a trustee is making an investment.
Facts
A testator died in 1922 and named his widow, two sons and wives and one grandchild ...
''
* ''Re Spectrum Plus Ltd
was a UK company law decision of House of Lords that settled a number of outstanding legal issues relating to floating charges and recharacterisation risk under the English common law. However, the House of Lords also discussed the power of th ...
''
* ''Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England
''Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England'' 9241 KB 461 was a landmark legal case in the United Kingdom. The lead decision was given by Bankes LJ.
It established the conditions under which banks owed confidentiality to their ...
''
* ''Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc
is a judicial decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court relating to bank charges in the United Kingdom, with reference to the situation where a bank account holder goes into unplanned overdraft.
When a bank customer uses an unplanned overdra ...
''
References
External links
National Westminster Bank
NatWest International
{{Good article
Banks of the United Kingdom
NatWest Group
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Banks based in the City of London
British companies established in 1968
Banks established in 1968
British brands