LONDON: British bank NatWest Group (NWG.L) upgraded its full-year income and profit guidance on Friday after higher lending and stable deposits helped it post a stronger-than-expected third-quarter attributable profit of £1.6 billion ($2.0 billion).
The bank, one of Britain’s largest, reported a return on tangible equity (RoTE) – a key measure of profitability – of 22.3% for the quarter, and now expects to achieve a full-year RoTE of greater than 18%, up from its previous forecast.
“NatWest Group delivered another strong performance in the third quarter of 2025, underpinned by healthy levels of customer activity,” Chief Executive Paul Thwaite said in a statement.
The results underscore how major UK lenders are benefiting from a resilient economy, with businesses and consumers continuing to borrow despite higher interest rates. Net loans to customers increased by £4.4 billion in the quarter.
Total income, excluding notable items, rose by £0.2 billion from the previous quarter to £4.2 billion, beating analyst forecasts and driven by growth across all its divisions.
The performance has put NatWest on track for its most profitable year since the 2008 financial crisis, bolstered by its ongoing digital transformation and cost-cutting efforts. The bank’s cost-income ratio improved to 47.8% for the year to date, down from 52.8% a year earlier.
“We are also becoming a much simpler bank, with tight control of costs supporting our digital transformation,” Thwaite said, highlighting the bank’s ability to “meet the changing needs of customers at pace.”
The bank’s capital strength also increased, with its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a key measure of financial resilience, rising to 14.2%, up approximately 60 basis points from the previous quarter.
This robust capital generation puts NatWest in a strong position to return cash to shareholders. The bank said it would provide its 2026 guidance and new 2028 targets when it reports full-year results on Feb. 13, 2026.
($1 = 0.7927 pounds)
