Hedge fund Marshall Wace has made a multi-million pound gain on a bet against NatWest as the bank's stock tumbled in value following the departure of Chief Executive Alison Rose and Peter Flavel, the boss of private bank subsidiary Coutts, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Hedge fund Marshall Wace has made a multi-million pound gain on a bet against NatWest as the bank's stock tumbled in value following the departure of Chief Executive Alison Rose and Peter Flavel the boss of private bank subsidiary Coutts, according to a report by The Telegraph.

The report cites regulatory filings as showing that the London-based investment firm holds the biggest short position in NatWest and netted a multi-million pound paper gain after the bank's share price dropped by more than 4% wiping £1.1bn from its value, following the Nigel Farrage "debanking" row. 

According to data from the Financial Conduct Authority, Marshall Wace first disclosed that it was building a short position against NatWest in March, following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. At the start of last month it held a short position in 0.8% of NatWest's shares, but subsequently trimmed that to 0.59%.