The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1145 ET – The U.K. government’s intended sale its NatWest stake carries more symbolism than actual implications for the British lender’s strategy, Quilter Cheviot says in a comment. Finance chief Jeremy Hunt said the government—which intends to sell down its current 39% stake to zero by 2025-26—will explore a retail share offer over the next 12 months. The fundamentals of the business, rather than any technical overhang from the shareholding, is what drives share price performance, analyst Will Howlett writes. “We do believe it reduces even further some of the remote risks with regard to introducing windfall taxes on banks ahead of the General Election, as this would weigh further on already depressed valuations,” he adds. NatWest Shares fall 1.35% to 204.2 pence. ([email protected])