- Business
- NatWest Group plc (NWG) operates as a major UK-focused banking and insurance holding company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, with roots tracing back to 1968 through the formation of its predecessor entities and a rebranding from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in July 2020. The group serves over 20 million customers through its primary brands including NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank NI, Coutts, and NatWest Markets, delivering a comprehensive range of financial products and services across retail banking; commercial and institutional banking; and private banking segments, encompassing current accounts, mortgages, personal unsecured lending, deposits, credit cards, loans, overdrafts, savings, wealth management, investment banking, debt financing, risk management, corporate finance, asset finance via Lombard, and offshore banking through NatWest International in the Channel Islands. It maintains primary operations in the United Kingdom, with additional presence in the Republic of Ireland, the United States via NatWest Markets Securities, and limited international activities in Western Europe and beyond, issuing banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Recent developments include a five-year partnership agreement with Aviva announced in 2024 for distributing protection insurance products such as term life, critical illness, and over-50s life insurance through NatWest, RBS, and Ulster Bank brands starting Autumn 2025; new university partnerships with Oxford, Manchester, Brighton, and York to support startup growth; the launch of IP-backed loans by Royal Bank of Scotland for high-growth Scottish businesses; successful passage of the Bank of England 2025 stress test with capital ratios well above minimums; and the UK government's complete divestment of its remaining shares on 30 May 2025, returning the group to full private ownership for the first time since 2008.