NatWest and Permanent TSB agree Ulster Bank deal

NatWest Group is to sell a swathe of loans and assets to Permanent TSB Group as part of its withdrawal from Ireland, the blue chip said on Friday.

The bank and its subsidiary Ulster Bank Ireland had agreed to sell around €7.6bn of gross performing assets to PTSB, including non-tracker mortgages, micro-SME loans, its asset finance business and 25 of Ulster Bank’s 88 branches.

Under the terms of the deal, PTSB will pay €6.4bn in cash and issue 90.9m shares, leaving NatWest with a 16.7% stake in PTSB upon completion.

Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest, said the deal was a "key milestone in our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland. Our priority is to support our customers and colleagues through this transition and working closely with PTSB to ensure the successful completion of this agreement".

PTSB chief executive Eamonn Crowley said: "This is a decisive step in transforming PTSB to be Ireland’s best personal and small business bank. It will give us much greater scale and business model diversification, along with many more customers and branches."

The bank said the deal would increase its mortgage book by around 40% and its branch network by around 30%.

Completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected in occur in phases between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

NatWest said a loss on the disposal would likely be recognised by Ulster Bank upon completion, "although the final amount will depend on movements in the book and other factors between now and completion".

NatWest has already agreed to sell the majority of its commercial lending to Allied Irish Banks. In total, it has now reached agreements to sell 58% of Ulster Bank’s total gross lending portfolio and 65% of its credit risk weighted assets.