NatWest Group Plc is pulling back from the US and European government bond markets, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
As part of the plan to stop primary dealing in those markets, NatWest is cutting as many as 10 jobs, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The Edinburgh-based firm will remain a primary dealer in the UK bond market, one of the people said. The firm’s markets unit broadly is planning to shift its focus toward activities including financing, advisory and hedging, the person said.
A spokesperson for NatWest said the bank is “simplifying” its markets business structure and “proposing to withdraw” from primary dealership programs in the US and Europe.
“The US and Europe remain important markets for NatWest, and these changes will allow us to focus resources on areas where we can deliver the greatest value for customers and support future growth,” the spokesperson said.
NatWest Markets brought in £436 million ($575 million) of total income in the second quarter, up 18% from the prior year, according to filings. However, the bank in July said that volatility and a drop in customer volumes had hurt fixed income revenue during the period, which weighed on the unit’s total income.
The fixed income business brought in £32 million in the second quarter, down roughly 28% year-over-year.
The markets unit employed about 1,600 people in December 2025, roughly 70% fewer than in 2019, according to company filings. In 2019, the markets unit employed some 5,000 people.
NatWest’s markets unit has shrunk since its heyday when the bank was named Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. RBS, under Fred Goodwin’s leadership, reported that its global banking and markets business brought in operating profits of £3.7 billion in 2007, the year before the UK government bailed out the bank during the global financial crisis.
In 2020, RBS slashed the markets business and abandoned its name in favor of NatWest. Alison Rose, chief executive officer at the time, said risk-weighted assets at NatWest Markets would almost halve to about £20 billion.
The European government bond market has been jittery in recent weeks, as investors have fled French debt amid concerns over the nation’s wide budget deficit and anxiety surrounding the potential outcomes of next year’s presidential election. Many sought the safety of German bonds instead, causing the yield premium investors demand to hold French 10-year notes to almost double in the past two months, jumping to a 15-year high above 159 basis points last week.
NatWest’s move is unrelated to recent market volatility, one of the people familiar with the matter said.