![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/326c\/live\/145a4a90-2ed8-11ef-88d9-0bf10c68769b.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nNatWest is to buy the main banking business of Sainsbury’s as the supermarket chain withdraws from the sector in order to focus on food.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, NatWest will take on the credit cards, loans and savings accounts of Sainsbury’s Bank.<\/p>\n
However, it is not buying the Sainsbury’s Bank brand, or its cash machines, insurance or travel money businesses. <\/p>\n
Customers will see no immediate change as a result of the deal, Sainsbury’s said, and “do not need to take any action”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sainsbury’s said it would seek to redeploy employees at risk of losing their jobs as part of a consultation process.<\/p>\n
Although NatWest is not automatically taking on those Sainsbury’s employees as part of the deal, a spokeswoman for the supermarket said “both parties are committed to exploring opportunities for ongoing employment with NatWest”.<\/p>\n
She declined to say how many employees would be affected.<\/p>\n
NatWest said it would gain about one million customer accounts as part of the deal, which is expected to complete at the end of March next year.<\/p>\n
The bank will take on \u00a31.4bn of unsecured personal loans and \u00a31.1bn of credit card balances, as well as \u00a32.6bn of customer deposits.<\/p>\n
Sainsbury’s Bank will pay out \u00a3125m to NatWest and \u00a3250m to Sainsbury’s as part of the agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sainsbury’s Bank started as a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland in 1997, before Sainsbury’s took full ownership in 2014<\/p>\n
But the supermarket said in January that it planned to wind down its banking division in order to focus on its core food business.<\/p>\n
Sainsbury’s is not the only supermarket to have pulled out of the banking sector.<\/p>\n