Federal Reserve Board Approves National Westminster Bank Plc Application for Stamford, Connecticut Representative Office
Key Takeaways
- •The Federal Reserve Board approved National Westminster Bank Plc's application to establish a representative office in Stamford, Connecticut, in an announcement released at 4:00 p.m. EDT on August 20, 2026.
- •National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is headquartered in London and forms part of NatWest Group plc, formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
- •Under the International Banking Act of 1978, foreign banks must receive Federal Reserve approval before opening a US representative office, which may only perform liaison, marketing, and informational functions and cannot accept deposits.
- •Once established, the representative office will operate under Federal Reserve supervisory and examination authority.
- •Stamford, located in the New York metropolitan area, previously hosted a NatWest Markets trading floor that was one of the world's largest before it was wound down as the group reduced its investment banking business.
For release at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, August 20, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application by National Westminster Bank Plc, of London, England, to establish a representative office in Stamford, Connecticut.
The Board's formal order is available as a PDF document, and the press release is published on the Federal Reserve's official website at federalreserve.gov.
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is one of the United Kingdom's largest retail and commercial banks. Headquartered in London, it forms part of NatWest Group plc, the banking group formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. UK-headquartered banking organizations have long been among the most active foreign banks operating in the United States, and many foreign banks maintain US representative offices under the framework the Federal Reserve administers.
Under the International Banking Act of 1978, foreign banks must obtain approval from the Federal Reserve before establishing a representative office in the United States. Representative offices may not conduct full banking business, such as accepting deposits, and are generally limited to liaison, marketing, and informational activities conducted on behalf of their parent institutions. Once established, such offices operate under Federal Reserve supervisory and examination authority.
Stamford is a city in southwestern Connecticut, situated within the New York metropolitan area. The city and surrounding Fairfield County are an established financial-services hub, hosting numerous asset managers and hedge funds within commuting distance of Manhattan. The location also has a historical link to the applicant: NatWest Markets previously operated one of the world's largest trading floors in Stamford, an operation that became part of Royal Bank of Scotland Group following its 2000 acquisition of NatWest and was later wound down as the group scaled back its investment banking business.
For media inquiries, the Federal Reserve asks that interested parties email [email protected] or call 202-452-2955.
