NatWest facts for kids
 |
|
NatWest's headquarters at 250 Bishopsgate in the City of London
|
|
|
Trade name
|
NatWest |
|---|---|
|
Formerly
|
National Westminster Bank Limited (1968-1981) |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessor | National Provincial Bank Westminster Bank District Bank |
| Founded | 18 March 1968 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
|
Key people
|
Chairman: Sir Howard Davies Chief Executive: Paul Thwaite |
| Products | Banking, Investments, Lending and Insurance |
| Parent | NatWest Holdings |
| Subsidiaries | Coutts |
National Westminster Bank, known as NatWest, is a big bank in the United Kingdom. It helps people and businesses with their money. NatWest has its main office in London, England.
The bank started in 1968 when two older banks, National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank, joined together. In 2000, NatWest became part of a larger group called The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. This group later changed its name to NatWest Group in 2020.
NatWest is one of the "Big Four" banks in the UK. These banks handle a lot of the country's money transfers. NatWest has many branches (over 960) and cash machines (3,400) across Great Britain. You can also do your banking by phone or online. Today, NatWest helps more than 7.5 million people and 850,000 small businesses. In Northern Ireland, the bank uses the name Ulster Bank.
Contents
A Look Back: NatWest's History
The story of NatWest goes back a long way, even to a bank called Smith's Bank in 1658! Its main older banks were National Provincial Bank (started in 1833) and Westminster Bank (started in 1834). These banks grew over time by joining with other smaller banks.
The idea to create NatWest was announced in 1968. The new bank officially started on January 1, 1970. The famous three-arrow logo was chosen for the new bank. Some say it shows money moving around, or it could represent the three main banks that joined.
Even after the merger, some banks like Coutts & Co (a very old private bank), Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man Bank continued to operate separately. NatWest was one of the first banks in London to open an office in Scotland in 1975.
NatWest also helped create the Access credit card in 1972 (now part of Mastercard). In 1976, they introduced the Servicetill cash machine. Later, in 1988, they helped launch the Switch debit card (now Maestro).
Growing Bigger: NatWest Expands
In the 1980s, rules for banks changed, which helped NatWest grow. The bank started getting involved in buying and selling investments. They also created National Westminster Home Loans in 1980 to help people buy houses.
NatWest also came up with new ideas for customers. In 1983, they launched the Piggy Account for children. They also created a flexible overdraft service called the Credit Zone. NatWest even worked on an "electronic purse" called Mondex in 1990, which was like a digital wallet.
The bank also grew internationally, opening branches in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. This helped NatWest become a truly global bank.
In 1980, NatWest built a very tall building in London called the National Westminster Tower (now Tower 42). It was the tallest building in the UK for 10 years! From above, its shape looks a bit like the bank's logo.
A New Owner: The Takeover
In 1999, NatWest tried to join with an insurance company called Legal & General. However, this plan didn't go well, and NatWest's share price dropped. Then, a smaller bank, the Bank of Scotland, tried to buy NatWest. NatWest didn't want to be bought by a rival bank.
But then, Royal Bank of Scotland made an even bigger offer to buy NatWest. In early 2000, the Royal Bank of Scotland successfully bought NatWest. This was one of the biggest takeovers in UK history! NatWest, which used to be one of Britain's most profitable banks, became part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Even though it was bought, NatWest kept its own name and banking license. However, many of its behind-the-scenes operations were combined with the Royal Bank's, which led to many job changes.
Changes and New Plans
In 2008, the UK government had to help the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (which owned NatWest) with a lot of money. This was because of big problems in the financial world. As a result, the government owned a large part of the bank.
Because of this, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group had to make some changes. They planned to sell off some of their branches in England and Wales. They tried to sell them to Santander UK, but that didn't happen. Later, they planned to create a new separate bank using the old name Williams & Glyn.
However, in 2016, the plan to create Williams & Glyn was cancelled. Instead, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group decided to keep these branches. They agreed to invest money to help smaller banks and allow their customers to use NatWest branches for some services.
In 2021, the Ulster Bank business in Northern Ireland officially became part of National Westminster Bank.
How NatWest is Organized
NatWest Group works all over the world through its main parts: NatWest Holdings (which owns The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank, and Ulster Bank Ireland), NatWest Markets, NatWest Markets N.V., and The Royal Bank of Scotland International.
NatWest Bank itself is part of the NatWest Holdings group. Some of its important companies include:
- Coutts & Co.
- RBS Invoice Finance
- Lombard North Central
For a long time, National Westminster Bank was owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. But in 2018, NatWest and the Royal Bank both became owned by NatWest Holdings. NatWest then became very important for providing services to the whole group. In 2020, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group changed its name to NatWest Group, using the name that most people already knew.
Here are some of the people who have been in charge of NatWest:
| Time in Charge | Person |
|---|---|
| 1968–1969 | Duncan Stirling |
| 1969–1971 | David Robarts |
| 1971–1977 | Sir John Prideaux |
| 1977–1983 | Robin Leigh-Pemberton, later the Lord Kingsdown |
| 1983–1989 | The Lord Boardman |
| 1989–1999 | The Lord Alexander of Weedon |
| 1999–2000 | Sir David Rowland |
Today, the person in charge of NatWest is also the person in charge of the whole NatWest Group.
What NatWest Offers
NatWest offers many different banking and insurance services for people, businesses, and large companies. They even had the first bank account in Britain that was fully supported in the Polish language. NatWest has won awards for being the "Best Bank for Mortgages" many times.
NatWest also has "mobile branches." These are vans that have been changed into small banks. They travel to rural areas where there are no regular bank branches. This helps people in remote places do their banking.
In 2006, NatWest was part of the first trial in Europe for contactless debit and credit cards (like tapping your card to pay). In 2019, they also tried out debit cards that use your fingerprint to confirm who you are.
NatWest is part of the Faster Payments Service, which helps money move between banks more quickly. They also have a mobile banking app for phones, which lets you check your money and pay bills. The Emergency Cash service lets you get cash from an ATM even if you don't have your debit card with you.
NatWest is a member of important banking groups in the UK, like the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company and Bankers' Automated Clearing Services. This means they follow the rules and standards for banking in the UK. They are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which makes sure banks treat customers fairly.
NatWest International is the name used by The Royal Bank of Scotland International in places like Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar.
Banks use special numbers called "sorting codes" to identify branches. Here are some of NatWest's sorting codes:
| Range | What it means |
|---|---|
| 01 | Used by the old District Bank |
| 50-00 to 59-99 | Used by the old National Provincial Bank |
| 55-91 | Used by Isle of Man Bank |
| 60-00 to 66-99 | Used by the old Westminster Bank |
| 18 | Used by Coutts & Co. |
| 98 | Used by Ulster Bank |
Your International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for NatWest starts with GBxx NWBK. The SWIFT code for NatWest is NWBKGB2L.
NatWest also launched a digital banking app called Bó in 2019, but it was stopped in 2020. They also have a service called Mettle for businesses and Tyl for helping businesses take card payments.
NatWest's Sponsorships
NatWest has a long history of supporting cricket!
- From 1981 to 2000, they sponsored a big cricket tournament in England called the NatWest Trophy.
- Between 2000 and 2013, the NatWest Series was an annual international cricket tournament.
- NatWest was also a main sponsor for the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
- Since 2017, NatWest has sponsored the shirts for the England men's and women's cricket teams.
- They also sponsored England's Test cricket series against Pakistan in 2018.
NatWest also sponsors the Southern Paintball League, which is a competitive paintball series.
From 1999 to 2019, NatWest was the main sponsor of the Island Games, which were known as the NatWest Island Games during that time.
NatWest CommunityForce is a program that helps local projects and charities get support from NatWest and their local communities.
See also
- Nestle v National Westminster Bank plc
- Re Spectrum Plus Ltd
- Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England
- Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc
