In 1979, Boardman joined the board of the National Westminster Bank and followed Lord Kingsdown (who became Governor of the Bank of England) into the chair in 1983. This was a period in which NatWest was overtaking Barclays to become the market leader in High Street banking, and pursuing grand ambitions, notably in investment banking and in North America. ""Our philosophy is, and was, and remains that we are going to be a major player in the global market,"" Boardman proclaimed in 1988 Changes at National Westminster during the Boardman era included returning to Saturday opening in 1985 after 16 years; waiving charges on current accounts in credit; becoming involved in the International Stock Exchange through the “Big Bang” deregulation of 1986; meeting the requirements of the 1986 Financial Services Act; and taking over First Jersey National Corporation of the US. In 1988 National Westminster's shares were listed on the Tokyo stock exchange for the first time. Boardman's avowed technique was to support his management team without getting involved in day-to-day management.