In 2025, we focused on building our presence across all sectors of the sterling bond market. Rather than concentrating on a single area, we aimed to serve a diverse range of issuers, including public sector, corporate, and financial institutions. This approach allowed us to maintain a balanced market share and execute a significant number of transactions in each segment.

Maxime Claudel, Head of FI Debt Capital Markets for Europe and Canada, commented:

“We have been the architects of structural development. It could have been a very difficult year given the headwinds – domestic, political and fiscal. But we had strategic goals in the form of leadership, innovation and resilience, and we responded well to the volatility, the regulatory shifts and investor diversification.”

The IFR Awards are widely regarded in the banking and capital markets industry, with winners selected for their performance, innovation, and client service. IFR highlighted NatWest’s decision to build its presence “simply everywhere” in the sterling market, noting our ability to grow across all sectors and maintain a straightforward statement of intent.

Our approach was rooted in providing reliable execution and advice, even during periods of uncertainty. For example, we supported the UK Debt Management Office on the largest GILT syndication in its history, completed amidst heightened political attention. We also reopened the PerpNC10 tenor for AT1s after more than a decade and supported SNCF’s first long-dated sterling issuance – a £300m, 30-year Green Bond.

Our credentials in the sterling bond market are reflected in several key achievements during 2025:

• Maintained a leading position across SSA, Corporates, and Financial Institutions, both domestically and internationally.
• Supported inaugural issuers such as Desjardins and Mitsubishi, and welcomed return issuers like Transport for London.
• Led Nationwide’s first Sterling Tier 2 and executed arbitrage transactions for Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel and Danske Bank.
• Facilitated private placements up to £750m and topped the MTN league tables.
• Delivered complex liability management exercises, including relocating Virgin Money capital securities to Nationwide following their merger.
• Supported UK water companies through important transactions, including Southern Water’s landmark deal – the largest sterling senior corporate order-book since 2014.

Innovation also extended to covered bonds, where NatWest introduced Paragon as the first new UK GBP Covered issuer since 2019 and supported a programme backed entirely by UK buy-to-let mortgages.

Throughout a year marked by political and economic volatility, we remained a consistent partner for issuers and investors. Our approach helped the sterling market attract a broader institutional investor base and reduce reliance on a handful of UK funds.

We ranked #1 for French issuers in GBP, led every French Agency syndication, and were the only bank on all of Société Générale’s GBP benchmarks since 2021. Our expertise was further demonstrated by reintroducing Westpac to GBP Covered Bonds and supporting European Investment Bank and L-Bank in their return to floating rate note formats.

“This recognition is testament to the strength of our client relationships, with both investors and issuers, and the trust those clients have placed in us to lead complex and high-profile transactions amidst challenging market conditions, said James Tayler, Head of Primary Capital Markets, NatWest. “Despite the headwinds of 2025, the sterling bond market continued to offer an attractive source of funding, proving its increasing resilience and flexibility. Navigating this backdrop has required leadership and innovation from the NatWest team, across public and private side teams, and we look forward to continuing to support the sterling market, working closely with our global client base in 2026.”