UK govt cuts NatWest stake to below 20%

(Sharecast News) - The UK government has sold more shares in NatWest, taking its stake to below 20% the bank said on Monday. The state's ownership of the bank has gone from just under 38% in December to 19.97%, it added.

Taxpayers were forced to bail out the bank during the 2008 financial crisis, after malfeasance in the industry in the UK and the sale of sub-prime mortgages in the US, that saw billions poured into financial institutions to prop them up.

British banks received £137bn in the form of loans and new capital. Lloyds Bank was also bailed out as part of the process. None of the share sales have yielded a profit for the taxpayer.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com