The NatWest (NWG) share price is in the spotlight today after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched criminal investigation into the bank. NatWest was previosuly known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and is one of the biggest UK banks.
What happened: In a statement today, the FCA accused the bank of not complying with money laundering laws between 2011 and 2016. The case involves an undisclosed UK customer, who transacted more than 365 million pounds throughb the bank.
As a result, the FCA says that the bank did not conduct an in-depth investigation into the source of these funds. The case will be heard on April 14th this year. If indicted, the company, which is 62% owned by taxpayers, will be forced to pay substantial fines.
In 2018, the company paid more than $4.9 billion to the Justice Department for its actions during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
After days of rallying, the NatWest share price declined by more than 1% today. The stock is still 30% above the lowest level in January. The stock is slightly above the lower line of the ascending channel and is along the 25-day and 15-day weighted moving averages. Still, even with the decline, I predict that the shares will bounce back as bulls target the upper side of the channel at 193p. However, a decline below 184p will invalidate this trend.
