Treasury to sell £1.1bn in NatWest shares, cutting taxpayer stake to 54.8%

The government has been gradually reducing its holdings in the bank since the 2008 financial crisis

The government has launched the sale of a 1.1bn stake in NatWest to cut the British taxpayer's holding in the bank, which was bailed out during the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

In the second selldown this year, UK Government Investments (UKGI), which manages the shares on behalf of the Treasury, said it would sell 580m shares, representing about 5% of the bank's stock.