The purchase by NatWest of Sainsbury’s banking business was confirmed on the London Stock Exchange this morning, and it says it expects to add one million new customer accounts to its books in the process.
As it stands, there are currently just under two million people (1.8 million) who bank with the UK supermarket giant.
Holders of Argos Cards (owned by Sainsbury’s) will not be affected by the deal, which is expected to be completed during the first half of next year.
Sainsbury’s Bank said: “We are writing to customers with personal loans, credit cards and retail deposit portfolios and there will be no immediate changes to their existing terms and conditions.”
YourMoney.com also asked NatWest for more details, including how this will impact rates for those with a loan, credit card or savings account, but the bank has not yet responded.
Customers will be ‘well looked after’
Simon Roberts, the CEO of Sainsbury’s, said NatWest’s values mean its current customers “will be well looked after”.
He said: “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.”
As part of the deal, NatWest will acquire around £2.5bn of customer assets, made up of £1.4bn of unsecured personal loans and £1.1bn worth of credit card balances, plus £2.6bn in customer deposits.
After the deal is finalised, the bank will also bag £125m from Sainsbury’s.
Paul Thwaite, NatWest Group’s CEO, said: “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.”
