Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
NatWest has upgraded its guidance after profits at the UK bank surged 30 per cent to £2.2bn in the third quarter on higher mortgage and corporate lending.
The group’s total income rose to £4.3bn in the three months to September compared with £3.7bn in the same period last year. In the second quarter, NatWest generated just over £4bn in income.
The bank made £2.2bn in pre-tax profits in the third quarter compared with £1.7bn in the same period last year. Analysts had expected £1.8bn in profits.
The boost allowed NatWest to increase its guidance on income and return on tangible equity (rote) — a key profitability measure. It has raised its rote target from 16.5 to 18 per cent. It is also now aiming for £16.3bn in income in 2025, an increase from the £16bn it guided at half year.
NatWest returned to full private ownership in May, when the government sold the last of the shares it acquired as part of a £45.5bn bailout of the bank, then called RBS, during the financial crisis.
Paul Thwaite, NatWest’s chief executive, said: “NatWest Group delivered another strong performance in the third quarter of 2025, underpinned by healthy levels of customer activity . . . This is driving positive momentum across our three businesses, with continued lending growth and deposits remaining stable.”
Thwaite has set three strategic goals for the bank: simplifying its operations, “disciplined” growth and improving risk management.
Analysts have speculated that it is set on a major acquisition under private ownership. It offered £11bn to buy the UK operations of Santander UK this year and ran the rule over TSB, which was eventually bought by Santander.
Last year NatWest bought the majority of Sainsbury’s Bank and £2.5bn of prime residential mortgages from Metro Bank. However, Thwaite has also said that any target will need to meet a “high bar” for NatWest to go ahead with a deal.
Credit: Source link
