NatWest third-quarter operating profit rises 1.9% to £2.2bn as lending to companies grows
Customer balances passed £1 trillion after the Evelyn Partners deal, and the bank now expects risk-weighted assets of about £210bn at the start of 2027.
By Daily Oracles News Team1 min read
NatWest Group made an operating profit before tax of £2.2bn in the third quarter, 1.9% more than a year earlier, according to results published on Friday. Over nine months the figure reached £6.5bn, compared with £5.8bn in the same period of 2025, and attributable profit was £4.6bn against £4.1bn.
Income excluding notable items came to £13.3bn for the nine months, up from £12.1bn. Other operating expenses were £6.2bn against £5.9bn, and the cost to income ratio on the bank's adjusted measure fell to 45.7% from 47.8%.
Where the balance sheet grew
Business lending did most of the work. Gross loans to customers across its three customer businesses stood at £417.8bn, up £25.1bn or 6.4% since the start of the year. Commercial and institutional balances rose 10.3% to £171.9bn, including a £6.6bn increase in the third quarter, while mortgages grew £8.3bn, or 3.9%.
Customer deposits in those businesses rose £11.7bn to £453.4bn. Customer assets and liabilities reached £1,002.6bn, a measure that includes Evelyn Partners, the wealth manager NatWest bought this year. Assets under management and administration were £132.4bn.
The outlook
NatWest expects income excluding notable items of around £17.9bn in 2026 and other operating costs of around £8.5bn, which includes around £300m related to Evelyn Partners. It also expects a return on tangible equity above 19% and targets a common equity tier 1 ratio of around 13%. That ratio was 13.5% at the end of September.
The bank now expects risk-weighted assets of around £210bn on 1 January 2027, including the Basel 3.1 capital rules.
