NatWest urges Reeves to ‘get balance right’ when changing debt rules

Rachel Reeves told the IMF in Washington on Thursday that rules limiting her spending power would be overhauled in the budget. Photograph: José Luis Magaña/AP

Rachel Reeves must “get the balance right” when announcing changes to Britain’s debt rules in next week’s budget given the potential knock-on effects to borrowing and mortgage rates, the boss of NatWest has said.

The bank’s chief executive, Paul Thwaite, said markets would be sensitive to the chancellor’s reasons for releasing up to £50bn of borrowing headroom after she confirmed in Washington on Thursday that she planned to rewrite her fiscal rules.