Natwest enters into an agreement to acquire Sainsbury’s Bank

Natwest Group has announces that it has entered into an agreement with Sainsbury’s Bank to acquire the retail banking assets and liabilities of Sainsbury’s Bank which comprises its outstanding credit card, unsecured personal loan and saving accounts.

NatWest Group expects to acquire approximately £2.5 billion of gross customer assets, comprising £1.4 billion of unsecured personal loans and £1.1 billion of credit cards balances, together with approximately £2.6 billion of customer deposits.

This Transaction does not include Sainsbury’s Bank’s commission income businesses, including insurance, ATMs and travel money. These are capital-light and profitable businesses with a strong connection to Sainsbury’s core retail offer.

Argos Financial Services is also not included in the Transaction. Core Banking Business customers are expected to transfer to NatWest in the first half of calendar year 2025. Sainsbury’s Bank customers do not need to take any action as a result of this announcement. 

Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s CEO said “I am pleased to be announcing this news today. NatWest’s values and customer focus are a close fit with ours and as one of the UK’s leading banks, NatWest’s scale and financial services expertise will ensure our existing financial services customers continue to be well looked after. There will be no immediate change for our bank customers as a result of this announcement. Today’s news means we will focus all our time and resources going forward on growing our core retail business, delivering great quality and value, week in week out.”

Paul Thwaite, NatWest Group CEO said “Following today’s announcement, we look forward to welcoming new customers to NatWest Group, where they will benefit from our expertise and award-winning digital banking offering. This Transaction is a great opportunity to accelerate the growth of our Retail banking business at attractive returns, in line with our strategic priorities. As well as a complementary customer base, the Transaction is expected to add scale to our credit card and unsecured personal lending business within existing risk appetite. NatWest Group has a strong track record of successful integration, and we are focussed on ensuring a smooth transition for customers.”