A Natwest bank branch. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg NatWest shares dropped as much as 2.2% before paring those losses to about 1.26%.
The government has been steadily selling down its holding in recent years through a variety of means. It said last year it would carry out open market sales in NatWest for an additional year. At that time, the government said no more than 15% of the lender’s aggregate total trading volume would be sold over the duration of the plan.
The Treasury remains NatWest’s biggest shareholder, more than a decade after RBS’s £46 billion bailout. After an off-market sale in May, the Treasury said it would hold roughly 39% of the bank’s voting rights. It has previously said its break-even price on a sale would be around 400 pence per share.
The remarks were part of Hunt’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The chancellor is aiming to boost business investment by £20 billion ($25 billion) a year with measures including making permanent a 100% tax relief on investment spending by British businesses.