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142-617: The creation of the Entente Cordiale scholarships was announced on 30 October 1995 by British Prime Minister John Major and French President Jacques Chirac at an Anglo-French summit in London. They said: “Young people in our two countries represent our shared future. The more they learn about their near neighbour as they advance in their education, the more they can contribute to the enlightened partnership and growing opportunities, which we are now developing in an enlarged Europe.” The programme

284-633: A leadership bid by Anthony Meyer ; though she won easily, 60 MPs had not voted for her, and it was rumoured that many more had had to be strong-armed into supporting her. By early 1990, it was clear that bills for many under the new poll tax regime would be higher than anticipated, and opposition to the Tax grew, with a non-payment campaign gaining much support and an anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square in March ending in rioting . The Conservatives lost

426-453: A 'budget for savers', with the creations of the tax-exempt special savings account (TESSA), arguing that measures were required to address the marked fall in the household savings ratio that had been apparent during the previous financial year . Major also abolished the composite rate tax and stamp duty on share trades, whilst increasing taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol. Tax cuts were also made which benefited football associations,

568-571: A 'favourite' of Thatcher's and he was widely tipped for further promotion. Nevertheless, Major's appointment to Foreign Secretary in July 1989 came as a surprise due to his relative lack of experience in the Cabinet and unfamiliarity with international affairs. Major found the prospect daunting, and unsuccessfully attempted to convince Thatcher to allow him to stay on at the Treasury. There were also fears within

710-602: A Conservative party event in Brixton in April 1970, and the two became engaged shortly thereafter, marrying at St Matthew's Church in Brixton on 3 October 1970. John's mother died shortly before in September at the age of 65. John and Norma moved into a flat at Primrose Court, Streatham , which John had bought in 1969, and had their first child, Elizabeth, in November 1971. In 1974

852-572: A Foreign Office minister on a trip to South America, visiting Colombia , Peru and Venezuela . In September 1985, Major was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS), before being promoted to become Minister of State in the same department in September 1986. The large size of the DHSS granted Ministers a greater degree of responsibility than in other departments, with Major assisting with work on

994-552: A Labour stronghold, the Conservatives received a huge boost following Enoch Powell 's anti-immigration ' Rivers of Blood speech ' in April 1968 and Major won, despite strongly disapproving of Powell's views. Major took a major interest in housing matters, with Lambeth notorious for overcrowding and poor-quality rented accommodation. In February 1970 Major became Chairman of the Housing Committee, being responsible for overseeing

1136-433: A candidate for a more promising seat, and despite numerous attempts was unsuccessful until December 1976. Growing increasingly frustrated, Major resolved to make one last attempt, applying for selection to the safe Conservative seat of Huntingdonshire and finally he succeeded. Major was in some ways an odd choice, being a born-and-bred Londoner in a largely rural constituency still home to many landed families; however, he

1278-595: A consequence, there will be among British and French decision-makers more and more people with deep knowledge of the other country. Knowledge overcomes prejudice, and should lead to more temperate opinions at high levels of responsibility on either side of the Channel.” This scheme is Franco-British, and funds postgraduate students for one academic year in France for British scholars and in the United Kingdom for French scholars. On

1420-827: A debit card from NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank cash machines. NatWest is a member of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company , Bankers' Automated Clearing Services , the Clearing House Automated Payment System and the LINK Interchange Network. The bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It

1562-432: A difficult one, with his mother suffering from pleurisy and pneumonia and John requiring several blood transfusions due to an infection, causing permanent scarring to his ankles. The Major family—including John, his parents, and his two older siblings Terry and Pat) —lived at 260 Longfellow Road, Worcester Park , Surrey, a middle-class area where Major's father ran a garden ornaments business and his mother worked in

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1704-409: A divorcée 13 years his elder with two children who lived opposite the family on Burton Road, who became his mentor and lover. Seldon writes "She ... made Major smarten his appearance, groomed him politically, and made him more ambitious and worldly." Major later moved in with Kierans when his family left Burton Road in 1965; their relationship lasted from 1963 to sometime after 1968. Major left

1846-726: A fact-finding trip to the Middle East in April 1982. The group met with King Hussein of Jordan and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in Lebanon; in Israel they were briefly caught in the middle of a shooting incident between Israeli troops and a Palestinian rock-thrower. Major later became an assistant whip in January 1983, responsible for East Anglian MPs. During this period Major became also involved in

1988-560: A fiercely critical broadside against Thatcher in the House of Commons on 13 November. The day after Howe's speech Michael Heseltine , Thatcher's former Secretary of State for Defence who had acrimoniously resigned in 1986 over the Westland affair , challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Both John Major and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd supported Thatcher in

2130-433: A financial institution for failings in combating money laundering. NatWest pled guilty to the three counts, which concerned a jewelers, Fowler Oldfield, depositing £365 million between 2012 and 2016 of which £264 million was in cash, despite predicted annual turnover of £15 million. FCA lawyers stated that large volumes of cash were deposited in black bin bags , and that the quantity of notes failed to fit within

2272-583: A high turnout, the Conservatives earned over 14 million votes which remains a record in any UK general election. This was the Conservatives' fourth consecutive election victory. Neil Kinnock was replaced by John Smith as Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition in 1992. On 16 September 1992, the pound sterling crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after the Chancellor of

2414-553: A joint venture between the Group and Norwich Union . In 2018, ownership of both NatWest and the Royal Bank transferred to NatWest Holdings and NatWest became the main provider of shared services and Treasury activities for the RBS Group. On 14 February 2020, it was announced that RBS Group would be renamed NatWest Group later that year, taking the brand under which the majority of its business

2556-508: A landslide in the 1997 general election , ending 18 years of Conservative government. After Blair became prime minister, Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the leadership election to replace him took place. He formed a temporary shadow cabinet , and Major himself was shadow foreign secretary and shadow secretary of state for defence . His resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect in June 1997 following

2698-606: A local church fair and was invited to watch his first debate in the House of Commons , where Harold Macmillan presented his only Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Major has attributed his political ambitions to this event. Major's first job was as a clerk in the London-based insurance brokerage firm Price Forbes in 1959, though finding the job dull and offering no prospects he quit. Major began working with his brother Terry at

2840-482: A local library and as a part-time dance teacher. John Major later described the family's circumstances at this time as being "comfortable but not well off". Following a German V-1 flying bomb attack in the area in 1944 which killed several people, the Majors moved to the village of Saham Toney , Norfolk, for the remainder of the war . John began attending primary school at Cheam Common School from 1948. His childhood

2982-411: A new leader had been elected. Major subsequently announced on 22 November that he would stand in the second ballot, with Thatcher's backing. Major's platform was one of moderation on Europe, a review of the poll tax, and the desire to build a "classless society". Unlike in the first ballot, a candidate only required a simple majority of Conservative MPs to win, in this case 187 of 372 MPs. The ballot

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3124-576: A new marketing-led approach to business development. Under the direction of Robin Leigh-Pemberton , who became chairman in 1977, the bank also expanded internationally, forming National Westminster Bancorp in the United States of America with a network of 340 branches across two states, National Westminster Bank of Canada and NatWest Australia Bank; and opening branches on the European continent and in

3266-575: A number of candidates fighting for the crown. It would merely prolong the agony." Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the leadership election to replace him was underway. He formed a temporary Shadow Cabinet , but with seven of his Cabinet ministers having lost their seats at the election, and with few senior MPs left to replace them, several MPs had to hold multiple briefs. Major himself served as shadow foreign secretary (having served as foreign secretary for three months in 1989) and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence , and

3408-482: A portfolio of businesses. In the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing , the NatWest Tower was devastated by a Provisional IRA bomb and the bank vacated the building and later sold it. Then, in 1997, NatWest Markets , the corporate and investment banking arm formed in 1992, revealed that a £50 million loss had been discovered, revised to £90.5 million after further investigations. Investor and shareholder confidence

3550-450: A priority, stating that tough measures were needed to bring it down and that "if it isn't hurting, it isn't working." He delivered his first Autumn Statement on 15 November, announcing a boost in spending (mainly for the NHS) and with interest rates to be kept as they were. As Chancellor, Major presented only one Budget , the first to be televised live, on 20 March 1990. He publicised it as

3692-460: A restructuring and write-off of some Third World debt at a Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in September 1990. Opposition within the Conservative Party to Margaret Thatcher had been brewing for some time, focusing on what was seen as her brusque, imperious style and the poll tax , which was facing serious opposition across the country. In December 1989, she had survived

3834-478: A scholarship was funded entirely by donations from alumni. The Entente Cordiale Herbert Smith Freehills Scholarship, first awarded in June 2012, funds a French law student to study for an LL.M. in a British university. Apart from the field of study, the criteria of selection remain similar. When back in France, the scholar is offered a placement with the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. John Major [REDACTED] Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943)

3976-550: A serious car crash in which he broke a leg and had to be flown home. Leaving hospital, he split his time between Jean Kierans' house and a small rented flat in Mayfair , working at Standard Bank's London office and resuming his banking diploma and activities with the Young Conservatives in his spare time. Major stood again as Councillor in the 1968 Lambeth London Borough Council election , this time for Ferndale ward . Though

4118-467: A single European currency there could instead be a 'hard ECU ', which different national currencies could compete against and, if the ECU was successful, could lead to a single currency. The move was seen as a wrecking tactic by France and Germany, especially when the increasingly Euro-sceptic Thatcher announced her outright opposition to EMU, and the idea was abandoned. More successfully, Major managed to get

4260-579: A term requiring a consumer who fails in his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law . The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. v New Garage and Motor Co. Ltd. [1915] AC 79 along with Murray v Leisure Play [2005] EWCA Civ 963, where it was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. The RBS Group maintained that its charges were fair and enforceable and stated it intended to defend its position vigorously. On 24 April 2008,

4402-465: Is National Westminster House (since renamed as 103 Colmore Row) in Birmingham : the building was sold to British Land in 2007 and demolished in 2015. The bank was hit by the stock market crash of 1987 and involvement in the collapse of Blue Arrow . The Department of Trade and Industry report on the affair was critical of the bank's management and resulted in the resignation of several members of

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4544-616: Is NWBKGB2L (8 digits) or NWBKGB2Lxxx (11 digits). Bó , a standalone digital banking app with the aim of helping people save more money was launched in November 2019 and discontinued in May 2020. Mettle is an e-money business account provided by Prepay Solutions, a trading name of Prepay Technologies Ltd. NatWest also entered the merchant acquiring market by introducing Tyl in 2019. The proposition includes next business day settlement for card transactions. The so-called NatWest Three —Giles Darby, David Bermingham and Gary Mulgrew—were extradited to

4686-559: Is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. He previously held Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , his last as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Major was Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon , formerly Huntingdonshire , from 1979 to 2001. Since stepping down as an MP in 2001, Major has focused on writing and his business, sporting, and charity work, and has occasionally commented on political developments in

4828-786: Is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme , UK Payments Administration and of the British Bankers' Association ; and it subscribes to the Lending Code . Mortgages , available in England, Scotland and Wales only, are provided by National Westminster Home Loans, a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders , The NatWest One account is a secured personal account with

4970-585: Is no branch. NatWest reintroduced the mobile service in Cornwall in 2005, after HSBC ended its own version due to costs. In 2006, the then RBS Group undertook the first trial of PayPass contactless debit and credit cards in Europe. In 2019, a NatWest pilot project was the first in the UK to trial debit cards containing fingerprint authentication technology developed by Dutch company, Gemalto . The bank participates fully in

5112-484: Is their ability to invest themselves and develop links between the United Kingdom and France in their field of activity. The scholarships are awarded in a broad range of academic subjects, ensuring a diversity of profiles and backgrounds among scholars. Companies currently funding the Entente Cordiale Scholarships scheme are the following: Rolls-Royce, Rothschild, Areva, Schlumberger , Herbert Smith. In

5254-490: The 1990 Mid Staffordshire by-election to Labour and the 1990 Eastbourne by-election to the Liberal Democrats , both Conservative seats, causing many Conservative MPs to worry about their prospects at the upcoming general election, due in 1991 or 1992. Thatcher's staunch anti-European stance also alienated pro-Europe Conservatives. On 1 November, the pro-European deputy prime minister Geoffrey Howe resigned, issuing

5396-754: The Citizen's Charter , removed the Poll Tax and replaced it with the Council Tax , committed British troops to the Gulf War , took charge of the UK's negotiations over the Maastricht Treaty , led the country during the early 1990s economic crisis , withdrew the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (on Black Wednesday ), promoted the socially conservative back to basics campaign , privatised

5538-523: The Faster Payments Service , an initiative to speed up certain payments, launched in 2008. The bank established credit and debit card payment handling company Streamline in 1989, which was merged into Worldpay Group in 2009. The NatWest Mobile Banking app is available to personal account holders over the age of 11 with online banking, a debit card and UK mobile telephone number (beginning 07). The Emergency Cash service gives access to cash without

5680-732: The Financial Ombudsman Service , the Financial Services Authority and the major banks, proceedings were issued on 27 July 2007 in a test case against the banks to determine the legality and enforceability of certain charges relating to unauthorised overdrafts. It is argued that these are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 ; Schedule 2(e) of which gives a non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair, such as

5822-510: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) that Major would be Thatcher's 'hatchet-man', as her relations with the department under Geoffrey Howe had been poor and characterised by mutual distrust. Major accepted the job and began to settle into the department, living in an upstairs room at the FCO and devolving decision making where necessary, though he found the increased security burdensome and disliked

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5964-739: The High Court found that although these charges could not constitute penalties, they are challengeable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. On 26 February 2009, the Court of Appeal ruled that fees for unauthorised overdrafts and bounced cheques are subject to regulation by the OFT under these rules. In September 2009, NatWest announced dramatic cuts in their overdraft fees. The unpaid item fee

6106-404: The Maastricht Treaty . On 12 May 1994, John Smith died from a heart attack and was replaced by Tony Blair who continued Labour's modernisation under the slogan of " New Labour ". Some polling at the end of 1994 and the start of 1995 had Labour with a vote share of over 60%. The Tories remained divided over this era and in an attempt to silence his critics, Major resigned as Party leader. In

6248-793: The Polish language . The bank has won Your Mortgage Magazine's Best Bank for Mortgages award 13 times in the last 17 years, more than any other lender. Operating under the name Esme Loans, NatWest provides a digital lending platform for SMEs also available to customers not banking with NatWest or RBS. Esme Loans commenced trading on 17 February 2017, after being founded out of the bank's new product development programme NatWest Innovation Cell by Richard Kerton, Veronika Lovett, and Lucy Hasson. The bank operates "mobile branches" using converted vans to serve rural areas around St Austell, Swansea, Carlisle, Devon and North Wales. The service allows to customers to carry out banking transactions in remote areas where there

6390-575: The Servicetill cash machine. The same banks, excluding Lloyds, were later responsible for the introduction of the Switch debit card (later branded Maestro ) in 1988. Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in the Big Bang in 1986, also encouraged the bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, its merchant banking subsidiary formed in 1965, acquired various stockbroking and jobbing firms to create

6532-535: The Ulster Bank brand. The bank's origins date back to 1658 with the foundation of Smith's Bank of Nottingham . Its oldest direct corporate ancestor, National Provincial Bank , was formed in 1833 as the National Provincial Bank of England. It merged with Union of London and Smith's Bank in 1918 to become National Provincial and Union Bank, shortening its name in 1924. District Bank (formed in 1829 as

6674-577: The Young Conservatives in Brixton. He soon became a highly active member; this helped increase his confidence following the failure of his school days. Encouraged by fellow Conservative Derek Stone, he started giving speeches on a soap-box in Brixton Market . According to his biographer Anthony Seldon , Major brought "youthful exuberance" to the Tories in Brixton, but was sometimes in trouble with

6816-403: The leadership election , Major comfortably beat John Redwood in June 1995. Following a string of by-election defeats, the Conservatives' majority of 21 had been eroded by 13 December 1996. In the 1997 election on 1 May 1997, Labour won a 179-seat majority, ending their eighteen years in opposition. This was the worst general election result of the 20th century for the Conservatives, seeing

6958-746: The 1971 Lambeth Council election, Major continued to nurse political ambitions, and with help from friends in the Conservative Party managed to get onto the Conservative Central Office's list of potential MP candidates. Major was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Labour-dominated St Pancras North constituency, fighting both the February and October 1974 general elections, losing heavily both times to Labour's Albert Stallard . Major then attempted to get selected as

7100-506: The Americans do not have to produce a prima facie case, or even a reasonable one, to extradite British citizens, whereas no such facility exists to extradite US citizens to the UK. On 28 November 2007 the three admitted one charge of wire fraud after a plea bargain . On 22 February 2008 they were each sentenced to 37 months in prison. Following discussions between the Office of Fair Trading ,

7242-661: The Argentine foreign minister , the first such meeting since the end of the Falklands War seven years earlier. Major's last major summit as Foreign Secretary was the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malaysia . The meeting was dominated by the issue of sanctions on South Africa, with Britain being the only country to oppose them, on the grounds that they would end up hurting poorer South Africans far more than

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7384-468: The Bank of Scotland. The takeover of NatWest in early 2000 was the biggest in UK history. Once Britain's most profitable bank, it was delisted from the London Stock Exchange and became, with its subsidiaries, component parts of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The outcome of this bitter struggle set the tone for a round of consolidation in the financial sector as it prepared for a new age of fierce global competition. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group became

7526-669: The British government owns 10.9% of NatWest Group after spending £45 billion ($ 61.87 billion) bailing out the lender in 2008; the proportion at one point was 54.7%. NatWest International is a trading name of RBS International, which also sits outside the ringfence. NatWest is considered one of the Big Four clearing banks in the UK, and it has a large network of over 526 branches and 3,400 cash machines across Great Britain and offers 24-hour Actionline telephone and online banking services. Today, it has more than 7.5 million personal customers and 850,000 small business accounts. In Northern Ireland , it operates through

7668-525: The British side, the scholarships are managed by the French embassy in London. On the French side, the scholarships are managed by the British Council France and the British embassy in Paris. Funding is provided by the private sector, while administrative costs are borne by the British and French governments. The selection of the scholars is based not only on their academic success, but also on their professional ambitions and their desire to become influential in their domains of expertise. Also taken into account

7810-407: The Channel “at an age when impressions and friendships are forged for life.” Another strong support of the scheme was French writer and politician Maurice Druon , who was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work in wartime London and for his broadcasts to occupied France from the BBC. Of the Entente Cordiale, he said in 2004 during the celebrations held for

7952-416: The Conservatives would suffer a landslide defeat in the upcoming general election. During this period, Michael Portillo had frequently been touted as the favourite to replace Major, but lost his seat in the election, thus eliminating him from the running. Although many Conservative MPs wanted Major to resign as leader immediately because of the 1997 election loss, there was a movement among the grassroots of

8094-422: The Corsair consortium. This figure was reduced to 307 by May 2015. The branches were to have been separated from the group in 2016 as a standalone business operating under the previously dormant Williams & Glyn brand. In August 2016, RBS cancelled its plan to spin off Williams & Glyn as a separate business, stating that the new bank could not survive independently. It revealed it would instead seek to sell

8236-462: The ERM at a rate of DM 2.95 to £1.00 (with an agreed 6% floating 'band' either side) was announced the following day. An interest rate cut of 1% (from 15%) was also announced on the same day. The rest of Major's Chancellorship prior to the leadership contest was largely uneventful; he considered granting the Bank of England operational independence over monetary policy, with the ability to set interest rates, but decided against it. He also agreed

8378-436: The Entente Cordiale Scholarship scheme is to “promote contacts and increase exchanges between tomorrow’s decision-makers in the United Kingdom and France,” and “to build an influential and widespread network of alumni and sponsors.” Sir Christophe Mallaby, founder of the scheme, hoped it would increase understanding between the two countries. “Some of the scholars will go on to become influential men and women. (…) I hope that as

8520-498: The Environment Committee and also assisted with work on the Housing Act 1980 , which allowed council house tenants the Right to Buy their homes. At this time Major lived in De Vere Close, Hemingford Grey. Major's first promotion came when he was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in January 1981 to Patrick Mayhew and Timothy Raison , both Ministers of State at the Home Office . Seeking to gain more exposure to foreign affairs, he joined several Labour Party MPs on

8662-492: The European Union , parliamentary scandals (widely known as "sleaze") and questions over his economic credibility. Despite being reelected as Conservative leader in the 1995 leadership election , his government remained unpopular, and soon lost its parliamentary majority. The Labour Party pulled ahead of the Conservatives in every local election during Major's premiership, which increased after Tony Blair became Labour leader in 1994 . The Conservatives were defeated by Labour in

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8804-405: The Exchequer Norman Lamont delivered his budget speech to the House of Commons, which included tax cuts widely perceived to achieve votes at the forthcoming general election. The next day, as universally expected, Major called an election for 9 April. To the surprise of many pollsters, the Conservatives won a majority on the 9 April election, with 336 seats, and earning 41.9% of the vote. With

8946-411: The Exchequer Norman Lamont had invested heavily in trying to keep it there, adjusting interest rates four times in one day. This event would later be called Black Wednesday . Despite the recession finally ending in 1993, the Conservatives' popularity didn't improve. Major's second ministry was also defined by conflicts within the Conservative Party regarding Europe following the government's defeat on

9088-430: The Far East. In 1982, the Frankfurt office of International Westminster Bank merged with Global Bank AG to form Deutsche Westminster Bank. In 1985, Banco NatWest España was formed and National Westminster Bank SA was incorporated in 1988, taking over the bank's six branches in France and Monaco . In 1989, International Westminster Bank was merged into National Westminster Bank by Act of Parliament. Completed in 1980,

9230-411: The House of Commons at the 2001 general election , having announced his retirement from Parliament on 10 March 2000. Jonathan Djanogly took over as MP for Huntingdon, retaining the seat for the Conservatives at the 2001 election. NatWest National Westminster Bank Plc , trading as NatWest , is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It

9372-458: The Huntingdon seat by a large margin in the 1979 general election , which brought the Conservatives led by Margaret Thatcher to power. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 13 June 1979, voicing his support for the government's budget. Major assiduously courted contacts at all levels of the party in this period, joining the informal 'Guy Fawkes club' of Conservative MPs and attending various Committees . He became Secretary of

9514-402: The LEB and took up a post at District Bank in May 1965, though he soon left this to join Standard Bank the following year, largely because the latter offered the chance to work abroad. In December 1966 he was sent for a long secondment in Jos, Nigeria , which he enjoyed immensely, though he was put off by the casual racism of some of the ex-pat workers there. In May 1967 he was involved in

9656-432: The Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company) was acquired by National Provincial in 1962 and allowed to operate under its own name. Westminster Bank was formed in 1834 as London and Westminster Bank. It merged with London and County Bank in 1909 to become London County and Westminster Bank and with Parr's Bank in 1918 to become London County Westminster and Parrs Bank, shortening its name in 1923. The creation of

9798-406: The Queen 's invitation to form a government, succeeding Margaret Thatcher . He inherited a majority government from Margaret Thatcher who had been the prime minister for the previous eleven years. The Conservatives' popularity was low, with some polling showing Labour 's Neil Kinnock with a 23% lead over the Tories in April 1990 following the introduction of the Community Charge (poll tax). By

9940-430: The Royal Bank of Scotland. NatWest Insurance Services acts as intermediary and broker for general insurance, policies are underwritten by UK Insurance Limited. Life Protector and Guaranteed Bond products are provided by National Westminster Life Assurance. The Royal Bank of Scotland International trades as NatWest International in Jersey , Guernsey , the Isle of Man and Gibraltar . In 2010, RBS Intermediary Partners

10082-405: The Social Security Act 1986 and improving provision for disabled people. Major began to gain a bigger profile, giving his first speech at the Conservative Party Conference in October 1986. He first attracted major national media attention in January 1987 over cold weather payments to the elderly, when Britain was in the depths of a severe winter. Amidst intense media criticism, Major discussed

10224-452: The Treasury from 1987 to 1989, Foreign Secretary in 1989, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Following Thatcher's resignation in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, Major stood in the 1990 Conservative leadership election to replace her and emerged victorious, becoming prime minister. Major's mild-mannered style and moderate political stance contrasted with that of Thatcher. As prime minister, Major created

10366-720: The UK he and Thatcher met with French president François Mitterrand , in which the future direction of the European Community was discussed. In September 1989, Major delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly , in which he pledged to support Colombia's effort to tackle the drugs trade and reiterated Britain's opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa. Major also met US president George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C. and Domingo Cavallo ,

10508-885: The UK to remain in the European Union , and has often criticised Brexit since the outcome of the 2016 referendum . Major was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG) in 2005 for services to politics and charity, and became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1999 for his work on the Northern Ireland peace process. Although public favourability of Major has improved since he left office, his premiership has generally been viewed as average in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. John Major

10650-433: The UK's sectors. Falling house prices stalled construction in the housing sector. Economic growth wasn't re-established until early 1993. By December 1991, unemployment was at 2.5 million (compared to 1.6 million 18 months earlier). Additionally, inflation was in double digits and interest rates reached 15%. However, opinion polling for Major's government remained stable during this period. On 10 March 1992, Chancellor of

10792-604: The United States in 2006 on charges relating to a transaction with Enron Corporation in 2000 while they were working for Greenwich NatWest. It has been argued that the alleged crime was committed by British citizens living in the UK against a British company based in London and therefore, any resulting criminal case falls under the jurisdiction of the English courts. However, the Serious Fraud Office decided not to prosecute due to lack of evidence. There has been criticism that

10934-647: The aim being to increase funding on safety measures following the Bradford City stadium fire and Hillsborough disaster . Extra funding was also made available to Scotland in order to limit the impact of the Community Charge (widely dubbed the 'Poll Tax'), which had been introduced there that year. The European Community's push for full Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was another important factor in Major's time as Chancellor; in June 1990 he proposed that instead of

11076-441: The apartheid regime at which they were aimed. The summit ended acrimoniously, with Thatcher controversially and against established precedent issuing a second final communiqué stating Britain's opposition to sanctions, with the press seizing on the apparent disagreement on the matter between Major and Thatcher. After just three months as Foreign Secretary Major was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 October 1989 following

11218-490: The bank built the National Westminster Tower (now known as Tower 42 ) in London to serve as its international headquarters. At a height of 600 feet (183 m) it was the tallest building in the UK until the topping-out of Canary Wharf Tower 10 years later; its footprint loosely approximating the bank's logo when viewed from the air, although the architect claimed the similarity was coincidence. Also worthy of note

11360-551: The bank processed $ 1.1 million in Laundromat cash. Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included HSBC , the Royal Bank of Scotland , Lloyds Bank , Barclays and Coutts . In December 2021, the bank was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court of three counts of failing to comply with anti–money laundering regulations, marking the first time that the Financial Conduct Authority had pursued criminal charges against

11502-535: The bank was the title sponsor of English domestic cricket's main limited overs knockout tournament, which was known as the NatWest Trophy during that period. Between 2000 and 2013, the NatWest Series was an annual one-day international tournament involving England and two visiting international teams. NatWest was also a main sponsor of the 1999 Cricket World Cup , held in England. Since May 2017, it has been

11644-561: The board, including then-chairman Lord Boardman . Later, the bank would divest its overseas subsidiaries. The North American operations were sold to Fleet Bank and Hong Kong Bank of Canada , and the Australian and New Zealand branches were sold to Salomon Smith Barney and the National Australia Bank . Thereafter the bank concentrated on its core domestic business as the restyled NatWest Group, reflecting its modern positioning as

11786-558: The branch vaults. In a statement, a spokesman for the Financial Conduct Authority said "'NatWest is responsible for a catalogue of failures in the way it monitored and scrutinised transactions that were self-evidently suspicious. Combined with serious systems failures, like the treatment of cash deposits as cheques, these failures created an open door for money laundering." The name NatWest has been associated with cricket tournaments held in England. From 1981 until 2000,

11928-585: The building of several large council estates . He also promoted more openness at the council, initiating a series of public meetings with local residents. Major also undertook fact-finding trips to the Netherlands, Finland and the Soviet Union . Despite the Lambeth housing team being well-regarded nationally, Major lost his seat in the 1971 Lambeth London Borough Council election . Major met Norma Johnson at

12070-505: The business in severe financial difficulties. A recalled business loan which the family were unable to repay forced Tom Major to sell the house in Worcester Park in May 1955, with the family moving to a cramped, rented top-floor flat at 144 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton . With his parents distracted by their reduced circumstances, John's difficulties at Rutlish went unnoticed. Acutely conscious of his straitened circumstances in relation to

12212-483: The centenary of the alliance: “Cordial understanding! What a classic piece of British understatement. It is not a cordial understanding - it is an alliance. And it is one that saved Europe twice!” The first Entente Cordiale scholars studied during the academic year 1995-1996. The Entente Cordiale Scholarships scheme is administered by two trusts, one in the United Kingdom, the other in France. These trusts are independent, but work in close cooperation. The stated goal of

12354-475: The chief executive, Fred Goodwin (who secured the takeover of NatWest), offered his resignation, which was duly accepted. Chairman Tom McKillop also confirmed he would stand down from that role when his contract expired in 2009. Goodwin was replaced by Stephen Hester , previously chief executive of British Land. In 2009, the RBS Group announced that it would divest all 311 RBS branches in England and Wales (known as Williams & Glyn's until 1985) together with

12496-509: The couple moved to a larger residence at West Oak, Beckenham , and had a second child, James, in January 1975. Meanwhile, Major continued to work at Standard Bank (renamed Standard Chartered from 1975), having completed his banking diploma in 1972. Major was promoted to head of the PR department in August 1976, and his duties necessitated the occasional foreign trip to East Asia. Despite his setback at

12638-1009: The deal upon completion in the first half of 2025. In 2024, NatWest also entered into an agreement with Metro Bank plc ("Metro Bank") to acquire a £2.5 billion portfolio of prime UK residential mortgages, with a weighted average current loan to value of c.62%. In November 2024, the bank bought back £1 billion of its own shares from the UK Treasury, reducing the British government’s stake to 11.4 per cent from 14.81 per cent. It acquired 263 million shares at 380.8p each. NatWest Group operates internationally through its four principal subsidiaries: NatWest Holdings which owns The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC; NatWest Markets ; NatWest Markets N.V.; and The Royal Bank of Scotland International . The NatWest sub-group of companies comprises National Westminster Bank and its subsidiary and associated undertakings. As of 2023 ,

12780-596: The division to another bank. In February 2017, HM Treasury and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement in which RBS would be able to retain the Williams & Glyn assets in return for investing £750 million into a fund aimed at increasing SME lending by challenger banks and for RBS agreeing to allow SME customers of challenger banks to use its branch network for cash and cheque handling. The European Commission confirmed in April 2017 that it would scrutinise

12922-493: The election of William Hague . Major remained in the House of Commons as a backbencher, regularly attending and contributing in debates, until he stood down at the 2001 election to focus on writing and his business, sporting and charity work. Since leaving office, Major has tended to maintain a low profile in the media, occasionally making political interventions. He supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for

13064-410: The end of 1997 parts of NatWest Markets had been sold, others becoming Greenwich NatWest in 1998. It had purchased Gleason Partners in 1996 for $ 135 million only to resell it back to GP's founder for just $ 4 million 3 years later in 1999, a whopping $ 131 million loss. In 1999, the chairman, Lord Alexander of Weedon , announced a merger with Legal & General in a friendly £10.7 billion deal,

13206-559: The extensive ceremonial aspects of the role. Amongst Major's first acts as Foreign Secretary was to cancel the sale of Hawk aircraft to Iraq , over concerns they would be used for internal repression. He represented Britain at the Paris Peace Conference to determine the future of Cambodia . Major also met with US secretary of state James Baker , with whom he primarily discussed the issue of Vietnamese boat people , and with Qian Qichen , Foreign Minister of China, becoming

13348-616: The fifth-largest bank in the world. In 1969 David Robarts, former chairman of National Provincial, assumed Stirling's position. In 1975 it was one of the first London banks to open a representative office in Scotland . It was a founder member of the Joint Credit Card Company (with Lloyds Bank , Midland Bank and Williams & Glyn's Bank ) which launched the Access credit card (now part of Mastercard ) in 1972 and in 1976 it introduced

13490-407: The first between a bank and an insurance company in UK history. The move was poorly received in the London financial markets and NatWest's share price fell substantially. Seen as a driver of the ill-advised investment banking expansion, Derek Wanless was forced to resign as chief executive following the appointment of Sir David Rowland (who became executive chairman). Also in 1999, in response to

13632-487: The first round. Major was at home in Huntingdon recovering from a pre-arranged wisdom tooth operation during the first leadership ballot, which Thatcher won but not by the required threshold, necessitating a second round. Following discussions with her cabinet, in which many stated that though supporting her they doubted she could win, Thatcher withdrew from the contest and announced that she would resign as prime minister once

13774-561: The first senior Western politician to meet with a Chinese official since the violent crackdown of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square the previous month. Discussions focused primarily on the future of Hong Kong , which Britain was scheduled to hand over to China in 1997. Major spent most of a summer holiday that year in Spain conducting extensive background reading on foreign affairs and British foreign policy. Upon his return to

13916-627: The future funding of the NHS , against the background of an NHS strike in February 1988 over pay, resulting in the 'Working for Patients' white paper and subsequent National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 . Major also insisted in discussions with Thatcher that government assistance should be provided to support the sale of Short Brothers to Bombardier , an aerospace company and major employer in Northern Ireland which might otherwise have collapsed. In 1987–1988, it became clear that Major had become

14058-452: The garden ornaments business; this had been sold in 1959, enabling the family to move to a larger residence at 80 Burton Road, Brixton. Major's father died on 27 March 1962. John left the ornaments business the following year to care for his ill mother, though when she got better he was unable to find a new job and was unemployed for much of the latter half of 1962, a situation he says was "degrading". After Major became prime minister, it

14200-429: The incident, as well as an online help point to guide and advise customers with any queries they had during the outage. In December 2013, a similar computer failure led to a number of customers being unable to use NatWest card services to pay for goods. This second major outage of services fell on what is known as Cyber Monday , when major retailers discount goods to boost Christmas shopping. The Group chief executive at

14342-655: The investment banking arm County NatWest . National Westminster Home Loans was established in 1980 and other initiatives included the launch of the Piggy Account for children in 1983, the Credit Zone, a flexible overdraft facility on which customers only pay interest (now commonplace, this so-called pink debt was innovative when launched) and the development of the Mondex electronic purse (later sold to MasterCard Worldwide) in 1990. The Action Bank advertising campaign spearheaded

14484-485: The issue with Margaret Thatcher and an increase in the payments was approved. Following the 1987 general election , in which Major retained his seat with an increased majority, he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury , making him the first MP of the 1979 intake to reach the Cabinet. The then-Chancellor Nigel Lawson generally made significant decisions with little input from others, and Major

14626-625: The loss of all the party's seats in Wales and Scotland. On the morning of 2 May 1997, on his final departure from Downing Street to offer his resignation to the Queen , Major announced his intention to step down as leader of the Conservative Party, stating in his exit speech that "when the curtain falls, it's time to get off the stage". He was succeeded as prime minister by Tony Blair . Speculation over Major's leadership had continued since his re-election in 1995, and intensified as it became increasingly likely that

14768-409: The modern bank was announced in 1968 and commenced trading on 1 January 1970 after the statutory process of integration had been completed in 1969. The three arrowheads device was adopted as the new bank's logo; it is said to symbolise either the circulation of money in the financial system or the bank's three constituents. The District, National Provincial and Westminster banks were fully integrated in

14910-465: The much reduced NatWest market capitalisation, the much smaller Bank of Scotland made a hostile takeover bid for NatWest. The Bank of Scotland's aim was to break up the NatWest Group and dispose of its non-retail assets. NatWest was forced to abandon its merger, but refused to agree to a takeover by a rival bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland tabled another hostile offer, of £21 billion, outbidding

15052-434: The new European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) located in London. By early 1990, Major had become convinced that the best way to combat inflation and restore macroeconomic stability would be if the British pound were to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), and he and Douglas Hurd (Major's successor as Foreign Secretary) set about trying to convince a reluctant Thatcher to join it. The move

15194-554: The new firm's structure, but private bankers Coutts & Co (a 1920 National Provincial acquisition, established 1692), Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland (a 1917 Westminster acquisition, established 1836) and the Isle of Man Bank (a 1961 National Provincial acquisition, established 1865) continued as separate operations. Westminster Foreign Bank (established 1913) was restyled International Westminster Bank in 1973. Duncan Stirling, outgoing chairman of Westminster Bank, became first chairman of

15336-598: The now slightly enlarged seat of Huntingdon at the 1983 general election . Shortly thereafter he and Norma moved to a larger house (Finings) in Great Stukeley ; Major generally spent his weekends there, and weekdays at a rented flat in Durand Gardens, Stockwell . Major was invited to join the prestigious 'Blue Chip' group of rising stars in the Conservative Party, and he was promoted to Treasury Whip in October 1984. It

15478-501: The office of Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland was left vacant until after the 2001 general election as the party no longer had any Scottish MPs. Major's resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect on 19 June 1997 after the election of William Hague . Major's Resignation Honours were announced on 1 August 1997. He remained active in Parliament, regularly attending and contributing in debates. He stood down from

15620-616: The other pupils, Major was something of a loner and consistently under-performed except in sports, especially cricket , coming to see the school as "a penance to be endured". Major left school just before his 16th birthday in 1959 with just three O-level passes in History, English Language and English Literature, to his parents' disappointment. Major's interest in politics stems from this period, and he avidly kept up with current affairs by reading newspapers on his commutes from Brixton to Wimbledon. In 1956 Major met local MP Marcus Lipton at

15762-476: The party, encouraged by his political allies, to have him stay on as leader until the autumn. Lord Cranborne , his chief of staff during the election, and the chief whip, Alastair Goodlad , both pleaded with him to stay on: they argued that remaining as leader for a few months would give the party time to come to terms with the scale of defeat before electing a successor. Major refused, saying: "It would be terrible, because I would be presiding with no authority over

15904-1198: The past, the following companies have supported the programme: Académie Française , Alstom, Arjo Wiggins, Banque Paribas , British Airways, Cap Gemini , Charles Schiaffino, European Investment Bank, GlaxoWellcome SA, Groupe Axa, Groupe Saint Louis, Institute of Applied Languages, JCB, Lagardère, Matra BAe Dynamics, Louis Dreyfus & Cie SA, L'Oréal, Le Progrès, Messier Dowty International Ltd, Pernod Ricard, Redlands Granulates, Rothschild & Cie, Rover France, Saint Gobain, Société des Bourses Françaises, H.H. Prince Karim Aga Khan, CCF, Fondation Singer-Polignac, Groupe RMC, Groupe Darty , Institut de France, Linklaters and Alliance, Turbomeca , Blue Circle (Lafarge), Corus, Financial Times, Madame Alice Goldet, Roy Jenkins Memorial Trust, Unilever, Arcadian International, Axa UK, BP Amoco Foundation, British Midland, BT, CGNU, The Dulverton Trust, EDF Energy , Hillsdown Holdings plc, Kingfisher, NatWest Bank, Mr Paul Minet, The Reuters Foundation, The Rhodes Trust , The Savoy Educational Trust, Securicor plc, Sir Patrick Sheehy, Steelite International plc, UBS, Xerox UK Ltd, EDF , Vodafone Foundation UK, Dassault Systèmes, Boucheron . Additionally, in 2011

16046-436: The principal subsidiary undertakings of NatWest are: Structurally, National Westminster Bank was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group until 2003, when ownership of the bank's entire issued ordinary share capital was transferred to The Royal Bank of Scotland as holding company, with RBS Group functioning as ultimate holding company. At the same time the entire issued share capital of Lombard North Central

16188-402: The professional agent Marion Standing. Major stood as a Councillor in the 1964 Lambeth London Borough Council election for Larkhall ward at the age of 21 in 1964, losing to Labour. He also assisted local Conservative candidates Kenneth Payne in the 1964 general election and Piers Dixon in the 1966 general election . Another formative influence on Major in this period was Jean Kierans,

16330-486: The proposal. On 3 May 2021, the business of Ulster Bank Limited in Northern Ireland was transferred to National Westminster Bank as part of a court-approved Banking Business Transfer Scheme. In June 2024, NatWest announced it had agreed a deal to acquire the majority of Sainsbury's Bank . The deal will see the company acquire one million customers, £2.5 billion of customer assets and £2.6 billion of customer deposits. NatWest will receive £125 million from

16472-471: The railways and coal industry, and played a pivotal role in creating peace in Northern Ireland . Two years into his premiership , Major went on to lead the Conservatives to a fourth consecutive electoral victory , winning more than 14 million votes, which remains the highest number ever won by a political party in Britain. In 1995, Major resigned as party leader, amid internal divisions over UK membership of

16614-404: The receiving banks and companies to ensure that all payments were processed. As a result of the system outage, RBS also announced that they would work with credit rating agencies directly to ensure no customer's credit file was permanently impacted. They also announced that no customer would be permanently out of pocket because of the system outage, and launched a dedicated new freephone helpline for

16756-474: The response to protests at RAF Molesworth , which lay in his constituency; various peace groups were opposed to the siting of cruise missiles at the base and had established a permanent 'peace camp' there. Major addressed public meetings opposed to the protesters, organised by parish councillors, and also met Bill Westwood and separately Michael Heseltine to discuss the issue. The protesters were evicted in February 1984. Major comfortably won re-election to

16898-713: The role of an elder statesman. Having left school just before his sixteenth birthday, Major worked as an insurance clerk and joined the Young Conservatives in 1959, and soon became a highly active member. He was elected to Lambeth London Borough Council in 1968 and a decade later to parliament, being elected as the Conservative MP for Huntingdonshire at the 1979 general election . Major held several junior government positions under Thatcher from 1984 to 1987, including parliamentary private secretary and assistant whip . He served in Thatcher's third ministry as Chief Secretary to

17040-404: The second-largest bank in the UK and Europe (after HSBC ) and the fifth-largest in the world by market capitalisation . According to Forbes Global 2000 , it was then the 13th-largest company in the world. NatWest was retained as a distinct brand with its own banking licence , but many back office functions were merged with those of the Royal Bank, leading to over 18,000 job losses. In 2008, it

17182-548: The seven NatWest branches in Scotland as a standalone business, to comply with European Commission state aid requirements. In August 2010, it was announced that the branches would be sold to Santander UK , along with the accounts of 1.8 million personal customers and 244,000 SME customers. Santander withdrew from the sale in October 2012. On 27 September 2013, the RBS Group confirmed it had agreed to sell 308 RBS branches in England and Wales and 6 NatWest branches in Scotland to

17324-601: The shirt sponsor for the England men's and women's cricket teams. The bank also sponsored England's Test series against Pakistan in 2018 . NatWest is sponsor of the Southern Paintball League, the leading competitive paintball series in the south of England. NatWest was the main sponsor of the Island Games (known at the time as the NatWest Island Games) from 1999 through to 2019. NatWest CommunityForce

17466-459: The sudden resignation of Nigel Lawson , who had fallen out with Thatcher over what he saw as her excessive reliance on the advice of her Economic Adviser Alan Walters . The appointment meant that, despite only being in the Cabinet for a little over two years, Major had gone from the most junior position in the Cabinet to holding two of the Great Offices of State . Major made tackling inflation

17608-450: The time conceded that the bank would have "to do better". On 20 March 2017, the British paper The Guardian reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder KGB -related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by an investigation named Global Laundromat . NatWest was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were "facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers," as

17750-407: The time of Major's appointment, Labour's lead had shrunk to 14%. However, by 1991, the Conservatives had narrowly retaken Labour in the polls. Major's first ministry was dominated by the early 1990s recession which was believed to be caused by high interest rates, falling house prices and an overvalued exchange rate. The high interest rates led to more saving, less spending and less investment in

17892-429: Was announced that HM Government would take a stake of up to 58% in the Royal Bank of Scotland in a move aimed at recapitalising the group. HM Treasury subscribed for £5 billion in preference shares and underwrote the issuance of £15bn of new ordinary shares offered to RBS shareholders and new institutional shareholders at the fixed price of 65.5p. As a consequence of the mismanagement that necessitated this rescue,

18034-477: Was born on 29 March 1943 at St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in St Helier , Surrey, to Gwen Major ( née Coates, 1905–1970) and former music hall performer Tom Major-Ball (1879–1962), who was 63 years old when Major was born. He was christened "John Roy Major" but only "John Major" was recorded on his birth certificate ; he used his middle name until the early 1980s. His birth had been

18176-411: Was delivered. The change became effective on 22 July. The following have served as chairmen of National Westminster Bank: The office is currently held ex officio by the chair of NatWest Group. NatWest provide a full range of banking and insurance services to personal, business and commercial customers, including the first dedicated bank account in Britain to be delivered and supported entirely in

18318-414: Was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank . In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named NatWest Group in 2020. Following ringfencing of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of NatWest Holdings ; NatWest Markets comprises the non-ringfenced investment banking arm. As of November 2024,

18460-477: Was generally happy, and he enjoyed reading, sports (especially cricket and football ) and keeping pets, such as his rabbits. In 1954 John passed the 11+ exam, enabling him to go to Rutlish School , a grammar school in Merton Park , though to John's chagrin his father insisted that he register as 'John Major-Ball'. The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse, with his father's health deteriorating, and

18602-586: Was held in prison. As a result of the error, RBS and NatWest announced that over 1,200 of their busiest branches would extend their hours throughout the week, including the bank's first Sunday opening, to enable the customers affected to access cash. On 25 June, over 1,000 branches opened for extended hours, and the number of phone staff was doubled. Some customers also reported problems with direct debits and standing orders being returned unpaid due to their account balances not updating correctly. However, RBS stated in an announcement that they would work directly with

18744-527: Was held on the afternoon of 27 November; although Major obtained 185 votes, 2 votes short of an overall majority, he polled far enough ahead of both Hurd and Heseltine to secure their immediate withdrawal. With no remaining challengers, Major was formally named Leader of the Conservative Party that evening and was duly appointed prime minister the following day. At 47, he was the youngest prime minister since Lord Rosebery some 95 years earlier. Major became prime minister on 28 November 1990 when he accepted

18886-541: Was initiated by Sir Christopher Mallaby , British ambassador to France between 1993 and 1996. During his first months as ambassador in France, he decided he had to move quickly if he was to do anything “to try to reduce the ingrained suspicion that can arise between the British and the French.” The problem, he explained, “arises from past rivalry and current ignorance.” He therefore encouraged the Entente Cordiale scholarship scheme, which funds studies for postgraduate students across

19028-469: Was later revealed (in 2002) that during this period Major had conducted an affair with Edwina Currie , a Conservative backbencher and later Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Health and Social Security ; the affair ended in 1988. Major narrowly avoided the IRA 's Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984, having left the hotel only a few hours before the bomb went off. Also in this period, Major stood in for

19170-612: Was misreported that his failure to get a job as a bus conductor resulted from his failing to pass a maths test; he had in fact passed all of the necessary tests but had been passed over owing to his height. In the meantime he studied for a qualification in banking via correspondence course . Eventually in December 1962 he found a job working at the London Electricity Board (LEB) in Elephant and Castle . In 1959, Major had joined

19312-455: Was put in charge of agreeing departmental budgets with the Secretaries of State . These discussions went well, and for the first time in several years budgets were agreed without recourse to the external adjudication of the so-called ' Star Chamber '. Major successfully concluded a second round of such spending reviews in July 1988. Whilst Chief Secretary Major took part in discussions over

19454-513: Was reduced to £5 from £38 and the card misuse fee was reduced from £35 to £15. The cuts came at a time when the row over the legality of unauthorised borrowing, estimated to earn current account providers about £2.6 billion a year, had reached the House of Lords . In late June 2012, the group suffered a major computer malfunction, resulting in some customers' account balances not updating correctly. Completions of some new home purchases were delayed, customers were stranded abroad, and one man

19596-451: Was renamed NatWest Intermediary Solutions. National Westminster Bank use the following series of six digit sorting codes formatted into three pairs separated by hyphens: International Bank Account Numbers take the form GBxx NWBK ssss ssaa aaaa aa , where x refers to two check digits , s to the branch sort code and a to the individual account number. The Bank Identifier Code , or SWIFT code, for NatWest (and Isle of Man Bank)

19738-500: Was seen as being the most likely to win-over the increasingly large numbers of upwardly mobile London over-spill families living in the area, and he was helped to familiarise himself with the area by local MP David Renton . In 1977 the Major family purchased a house at De Vere Close in the village of Hemingford Grey . Major took on a less demanding job at Standard Chartered, and started working part-time in 1978 so that he could devote more time to his constituency duties. Major won

19880-636: Was so badly shaken that the Bank of England had to instruct the board of directors to resist calls for the resignation of its most senior executives in an effort to draw a line under the affair. The bank's internal controls and risk management were severely criticised in 2000 and its aggressive push into investment banking questioned, after a lengthy investigation by the Securities and Futures Authority. The bank's move into complicated derivative products that it did not fully understand seemed to indicate poor management. By

20022-502: Was supported by the Bank of England , the Treasury, most of the Cabinet, the Labour Party, several major business associations and much of the press. With the ' Lawson Boom ' showing signs of running out of steam, exacerbated by rising oil prices following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, there were fears of a potential recession and pressure to cut interest rates. Thatcher finally agreed on 4 October, and Britain's entry into

20164-411: Was transferred by the bank to the holding company, transferring back to NatWest in 2017. Ownership of National Westminster Home Loans was passed to the holding company in 2005; however, the mortgage portfolio and related funding were also transferred back to NatWest in 2012. In 2000, the bank transferred National Westminster Life Assurance to RBS Life Investments, effectively establishing the business as

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