30 October 2026
If you are covering NatWest's latest financial results, please find below a comment from Will Howlett, financials analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
"NatWest delivered a solid third quarter results, but given events of this week were fairly uneventful with the figures in line with peers and there was no further guidance upgrade after raises earlier in the year. Even so, with the backdrop of an increased banking surcharge tax following the Budget, these steady as you go results should be well received by longer term shareholders. Volume trends remain strong, with loans up 2% quarter on quarter, but this needs to be funded and contributing to competition in deposits which has been in focus recently. Profit before tax meanwhile is up 2% year on year to £2.2bn, but this was slightly below market expectations due to weaker net interest margin and higher loan losses than expected.
"While NatWest continues to embed Evelyn Partners into the business, where growing fee income should provide greater revenue diversification when we eventually move into the next rate-cutting cycle. At present, the higher for longer interest rate environment should help NatWest, as well as the other UK banks, going forward, but there are concerns that the increased bank tax surcharge will not be as time limited as was announced. NatWest is more domestically focused than its peers and thus will be among the hardest hit, so while the new rate is not as bad as feared, NatWest hasn’t got off lightly.
"That said, many of these tailwinds and headwinds will likely offset one another. NatWest announced a £750m share buyback earlier this year and will be considering the same again at its full year results. After weakness post the Evelyn Partners announcement and again more recently, NatWest trades at a more attractive valuation, particularly given its profitability compared to the sector."
