Stephen Alan Michael Hester

Northern Rock Plc provides financial services. The firm raises funds through sterling money markets, securitization of residential mortgage loans, capital markets, covered bonds and the domestic retail savings market. The company was founded in July 1965 and is headquartered in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the United Kingdom.

In 1968 National Provincial Bank (est.1833) and Westminster Bank (est.1836), merged as National Westminster Bank. Together these banks could trace their history back down the centuries through a lineage of prestigious constituents, dating back to the 1650s. The announcement completely surprised the City and the public, but to both banks the advantages were apparent - the merger enhanced balance sheet strength, created opportunities to streamline the branch networks and enabled greater investment in new technology. The statutory process of integration was completed in 1969 and National Westminster Bank commenced trading on 1 January 1970, with the three-arrowheads symbol as its logo. The new bank, with 3,600 branches, developed a wide range of new services, including the bank's first credit card, Access, in 1972, and computer-linked cash dispensers, Servicetills, in 1976. Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in 'Big Bang' in 1986, also encouraged National Westminster Bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, the Group's merchant bank, acquired stockbroking and jobbing firms to create NatWest Investment Bank. Meanwhile, the International Banking Division looked to provide international banking services to large companies and to focus on expansion in the USA, the Far East and Europe. In the 1980s new services were developed such as telephone banking and touch-screen share dealing to assist the government's privatisation programme. The 1980s also saw the National Westminster Home Loans established in 1980 and the Small Business Unit in 1982. The Switch debit card extended the electronic transfer of money to point of sale in 1988. In the 1990s financial services markets world-wide underwent massive change and in response the bank refocused its activities, exiting from a number of markets and adopting the title of NatWest. In March 2000, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group completed the acquisition of NatWest in a £21 billion deal that was the largest take-over in British banking history. NatWest is now part of one of the world's largest financial services group

NatWest Group Plc engages in the provision of international banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Personal and Business Banking, Commercial and Private Banking, RBS International (RBSI), NatWest Markets, and Central Items and Other. The Personal and Business Banking segment consists of the United Kingdom Personal, Business Banking, and Ulster Bank RoI sub-segments. The Commercial and Private Banking segment covers the Commercial Banking, Private Banking, and RBS International Commercial Banking sub-segments, involved in serving retail, commercial, corporate, and financial institution customers. The RBSI serves retail, commercial, corporate and financial institution customers in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Gibraltar and financial institution customers in Luxembourg and London. The NatWest Markets offers corporate and institutional customers global market access, providing them with trading, risk management, and financing solutions. The Central Items and Other segment include corporate functions, such as RBS treasury, finance, risk management, compliance, legal, communications, and human resources. The company was founded on March 25, 1968 and is headquartered in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom.