NatWest Takes Joint Lead Role in U.K. Digital Gilt Pilot

NatWest will serve as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned Digital Gilt Instrument pilot while holding £79.5 billion in primary-liquidity securities, most of them government-related bonds.

Government, sovereign, supranational and agency bonds represented 84% of those holdings as of June 30, 2026. Covered bonds accounted for 6%, while other Level 2 assets made up 10%.

The portfolio reflects liquidity and risk-management assets on the bank’s balance sheet. It does not establish how actively NatWest makes markets in government bonds for clients.

NatWest Group had £152.0 billion in primary liquidity, a 140% average liquidity coverage ratio and £447.6 billion in customer deposits at the end of the first half of 2026.

The Federal Reserve approved National Westminster Bank Plc’s application to establish a representative office in Stamford, Connecticut. The approval was announced Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. ET (20:00 UTC), but does not establish the scale or purpose of the bank’s government-bond business in the United States.

NatWest was one of six institutions appointed Oct. 6 as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT, pilot. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets were also appointed.

The pilot is expected in the first quarter of 2027. It will use distributed-ledger technology to evaluate how a digitally native U.K. government bond can be issued and managed, while the lead managers support underwriting, investor outreach and distribution.

“Digitalisation is central to ensuring that the UK can be a global hub for digital assets and the government’s commitment to the issuance of a digital gilt is a core part of this agenda,” Lucy Rigby KC MP, economic secretary to the Treasury, said.

“The appointment of Lead Managers marks an important step as we work towards issuance early next year,” Rigby said.

NatWest’s joint lead-manager appointment places it in the United Kingdom’s planned digital-securities infrastructure. It follows NatWest’s participation in a U.K. tokenized-deposit pilot involving seven banks.

The DIGIT pilot is the next concrete step, with issuance expected during the first quarter of 2027.