A Report on NatWest Bank and an Analysis of the Banking Industry

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A Report on NatWest Bank and an Analysis of the Banking Industry 1. Introduction This report focuses on NatWest and the industry in which it operates. The purpose of the report is to give a concise but accurate view of how NatWest operates as an organisation and the links between its environment, in this case the banking industry. Company History =============== National Westminster Bank came into being in 1968 when National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank merged and began trading on 1st January 1970. This allowed the bank to expand and venture into new services such as credit cards and computer-linked cash dispensers. The 1980’s saw deregulation of the financial markets which eventually culminated in the ‘Big Bang’ in 1986, National Westminster Bank seized this opportunity and entered the securities business acquiring stockbroking and jobbing firms to create NatWest Investment Bank. The Group’s International Banking Division focused on expanding into international banking services and into The USA, the Far East and Europe. In the 1980’s new services were introduced as technology advanced such as telephone banking and the Switch debit card which extended the use of the electronic transfer of money to the point of sale. The Organisation also moved into more markets with inception of National Westminster Home Loans and the Small Business Unit in 1980 and 1982 respectively. However the recession and changing financial services environment of the 1990’s forced the bank to withdraw from many markets and refocus its activities, adopting the name NatWest. The apparent limitations with which the bank found i... ... middle of paper ... ...s and to give the organisation a sounder footing should the market become more competitive in the near future. Possible drawbacks with such an online service would be security threats to accounts held by online customers. Also the broader issue of an anti-competitive industry may withhold such an expansion by one of the market leaders. 5. Bibliography 1. Gerry Johnson & Kevan Scholes (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy Sixth Edition. London: Prentice Hall. 2. Henry Mintzberg, James Brian Quinn, & Sumantra Ghoshal (1995) The Strategy Process: European Edition London: Prentice-Hall 3. http://www.bankreview.org.uk/ 4. http://www.bankfacts.org.uk/ 5. www.LemonAid.net (National Association of Bank and Insurance Customers) 6. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business Appendices ----------

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