NatWest Three face 37-month terms

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David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew, and Giles Darby, all aged 45, were all extradited to the US under a controversial treaty 17 months ago and told the US district court in Houston, Texas, they wanted to change their plea to guilty on Wednesday following a deal with prosecutors.

Under the agreement, which has yet to be accepted by the judge, the trio would all serve 37 months behind bars and pay back a total of 7.3 million dollars (£3.5m) to the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest's successor.

In return for the guilty pleas to one count of wire fraud, US prosecutors would ask for the six other counts to be dismissed and support the trio's bid to "serve some of the sentence" in the UK.

The three men admitted advising their former employer NatWest to sell part of a company owned by collapsed US giant Enron for less than it was worth.

They then left the bank and bought a stake in the company, Swap Sub, which they then sold on for a huge profit, making around 7.3 million dollars (£3.5m) themselves.

Bermingham, of Goring, south Oxfordshire; Glasgow-born Mulgrew; and Darby, of Lower Wraxall, Wiltshire, have all been described as "ordinary family men" and are known to be keen to return home to the UK as soon as possible.

Outside court, with all three defendants at his side, lawyer Reid Figel said the guilty pleas were "an important first step to bringing this terrible ordeal to an end".

He added: "Nothing is yet finalised. By changing their plea, Gary, Giles and David have fully accepted the responsibility for the significant lapse of judgment that led to the filing of these charges and which has caused them to be separated from their family and friends in the UK for more than 17 months."