NatWest Holdings
NatWest Holdings Limited is an intermediate holding company for the NatWest Group's retail banking interests in the United Kingdom. It was created in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Financial Services Act 2013. The Act implements the Independent Commission on Banking recommendation that core domestic operations should be "ring-fenced" from wholesale and investment banking activities by 2019.
Operations
NatWest Holdings was formed to be the direct parent of five licensed banks:Bank | Area of operation |
National Westminster Bank | England, Wales and western Europe |
Royal Bank of Scotland | Scotland, England and Wales |
Ulster Bank | Northern Ireland |
Ulster Bank Ireland | Republic of Ireland |
Coutts & Co. | United Kingdom |
Ulster Bank and Coutts & Co. are wholly owned subsidiaries of National Westminster Bank. Ulster Bank Ireland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ulster Bank Holdings Unlimited Company. NatWest Holdings includes the Lombard North Central asset finance business and RBS Invoice Finance.
As authorised brands of Royal Bank of Scotland, the ring-fenced group also covers the private banking houses of Messrs. Drummond and Child & Co. in London and Adam & Company in Edinburgh.
Two other licensed banks within the NatWest Group - NatWest Markets and Royal Bank of Scotland International - sit outside the ring-fence. RBS International, NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services and RBS International Depositary Services S.A. are wholly owned subsidiaries of The Royal Bank of Scotland International.