NatWest acquires Sainsbury's banking business in a $3.2 billion deal
- NatWest has made a significant deal to take over Sainsbury's banking arm for $3.2 billion.
- Sainsbury's will focus on its food business as it withdraws from retail banking.
- Customers are assured that there will be no immediate changes to their banking terms and conditions.
NatWest has acquired most of Sainsbury's banking business, increasing its assets by £2.5 billion and customer accounts by about 1 million. The deal includes unsecured personal loans, credit card balances, and customer deposits. Sainsbury's will pay NatWest £125 million, with the transaction expected to be completed in March next year. The sale does not include Sainsbury's Bank's commission income businesses. Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts stated that the focus will now be on growing the core retail business. NatWest CEO Paul Thwaite sees this as an opportunity to accelerate retail banking growth. The deal mirrors Tesco's sale of banking operations to Barclays earlier this year. NatWest shares rose after the announcement, and the transaction is expected to have a positive impact on NatWest's core capital ratio.