NatWest exec Holbourn leads race to run National Wealth Fund

A elder enforcement astatine NatWest Group heads a battalion of contenders to go the adjacent brag of Rachel Reeves's National Wealth Fund (NWF).

Sky News has learnt that Oliver Holbourn, who is stepping down arsenic main enforcement of NatWest's RBS International arm, is the existent frontrunner to instrumentality the helm of the Treasury-supervised concern vehicle.

Mr Holbourn is nary alien to Whitehall, having antecedently tally UK Financial Investments, the entity acceptable up to negociate British taxpayers' stakes successful Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.

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Both banks person since returned to afloat backstage assemblage ownership.

After leaving UKFI, Mr Holbourn joined NatWest - past called RBS - arsenic its caput of strategy, earlier taking connected the enactment of its planetary concern successful 2022.

The chancellor has been seeking a caller caput of the National Wealth Fund since February, erstwhile the erstwhile HSBC Holdings main John Flint announced that helium would measurement down from his relation moving the UK Infrastructure Bank - which has been absorbed into the NWF.

In March, the Treasury said the money would beryllium fixed a caller strategical steer to alteration it to instrumentality connected higher-risk projects successful cleanable energy, precocious manufacturing, integer technologies and transport.

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It claimed that the NWF would unlock much than £70bn successful backstage investment.

"My fig 1 ngo is kickstarting economical maturation done our Plan for Change to marque Great Britain a stronger, much resilient state and enactment much wealth into the pockets of moving people," Ms Reeves said astatine the time.

"I americium determined to spell further and faster to get our system growing. By directing tens of billions of pounds into the UK's concern strengths, we'll present the high-skilled, high-paid jobs of the aboriginal successful each country of the country."

Other candidates are said to beryllium successful the framework to win Mr Flint if Mr Holbourn does not get appointed to the role.

The Treasury did not respond to a petition for comment, portion NatWest declined to remark connected Mr Holbourn's behalf.