Natwest Hopes To Sell American Subsidiary

NatWest Group PLC, one of the top British banking companies, said Thursday it wants to sell its American subsidiary because it is too small to be a long-term player in the changing U.S. banking market.

NatWest said it was in “preliminary discussions with a number of parties who have expressed an interest” in NatWest Bancorp., a U.S. operation with $31 billion in assets and 340 branches in New York and New Jersey.

NatWest would not name the groups interested in buying the bank or say how much it is asking for the sale. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the deal, reported NatWest is seeking $4 billion, or twice the subsidiary’s book value.

The Northeastern United States has been a hotbed of bank mergers, as financial institutions combine forces to enter new markets and get more customers.