A UK banking group headquartered in Edinburgh. Its brands include NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts, and it runs apprenticeships, internships and graduate programmes in the UK.
NatWest Group is a British banking group. It offers personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and corporate finance. Its main brands include NatWest (National Westminster Bank), Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Holt's, Lombard, RBS International and FreeAgent, an accounting software company. The group says it has more than 20 million customers across retail, commercial and private banking.
The group was founded in 1968 as the National and Commercial Banking Group by merging the National Commercial Bank of Scotland with the Royal Bank of Scotland. It became The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 1979, took over NatWest in 2000 and renamed itself NatWest Group in 2020. Its own site says its history goes back nearly 300 years and includes hundreds of earlier banks. Its registered office is 36 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, and Wikipedia gives Edinburgh as its headquarters. The UK government rescued the bank in 2008 and sold its final shares on 30 May 2025, returning it to full private ownership. Wikipedia reports 59,300 employees in 2025.
NatWest describes itself as "the bank that turns possibilities into progress". It says it wants to understand what customers are trying to achieve and help them get there, which it links to supporting communities and the UK economy. Its stated strategy is to be "a vital and trusted partner to our customers". It also points to a Fair Pay Charter and family-focused policies for staff.
Day to day, the group runs high-street banking for households, lending and services for businesses of all sizes, wealth management through Coutts (a private bank for wealthier clients) and Holt's, and specialist businesses such as Lombard, which finances equipment, and NatWest Markets.
For young people, NatWest says it offers graduate, internship and apprenticeship routes through its careers site. A third-party guide describes graduate programmes lasting two to three years with rotations, paid 8 to 10 week internships for penultimate-year students, apprenticeships including degree apprenticeships that are typically open from age 16, and a one to two day Insight Experience held in London or Edinburgh. Apprenticeships need UK right to work and typically three years' UK residence, and NatWest does not sponsor visas for most graduate roles. Check NatWest's careers site for current dates.
Website: www.natwestgroup.com
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