- Takeovers expand balance sheets without straining them
- NatWest poised to free itself and grow
There has been a distinct danger over the past decade that memories of deal-hungry banks pulling off mega-takeovers and challenging for global dominance might have faded into a folk tale of the sector’s former glories.
However, with Barclays (BARC) and building society Nationwide buying Tesco Bank and Virgin Money (VMUK), respectively, the UK’s financial institutions are again finding ways of deploying their excess capital that do not involve sticking strictly to dividends or buybacks.