Sainsbury’s Is Latest Retailer to Ditch Banking in NatWest Deal

J Sainsbury Plc agreed to offload its banking business to NatWest Group Plc, the latest sign that the world’s biggest grocers have failed to break the stranglehold that traditional lenders have on financial services.

Britain’s second-largest grocer spent months trying to dispose of the division and ultimately agreed to pay NatWest £125 million ($159 million) to take the portfolio of unsecured personal loans, credit cards balances and deposits off its hands.

“This is a good outcome for Sainsbury’s to dispose of its bank, after a long sale period where it struggled to find a buyer,” William Woods, an analyst ...