NatWest: the bailed-out bank that’s become an economic bellwether

The high street lender may soon no longer be majority state-owned: and its fortunes are key to the wider UK economy

It has taken 14 years but a minor miracle is about to happen, probably within months: the state's stake in NatWest will fall below 50%. We will no longer have to refer to the former Royal Bank of Scotland as majority owned" by the government. Hallelujah.

NatWest's full-year figures for 2021, to be announced on Friday, won't in themselves trigger further disposals of government-owned shares, but they should confirm that the climate is ripe to continue a sell-down programme that has been buzzing along in the background for the past year.