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NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) delivered strong financial results for the first half of 2025, reporting a 13.7% increase in income excluding notable items and raising its full-year guidance. The results were presented on July 25, 2025, with CEO Paul Thwaite and CFO Katie Murray highlighting the bank’s improved performance across key metrics.
Financial Performance Highlights
NatWest reported income excluding notable items of £8.0 billion for H1 2025, representing a 13.7% increase compared to the same period last year. The bank’s Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) improved to 18.1%, up from 16.4% in H1 2024, while earnings per share rose 28% to 30.9p.
Operating expenses declined 1.4% year-over-year to £3.9 billion, demonstrating the bank’s continued focus on cost control. This contributed to a significant improvement in the cost-to-income ratio, which decreased by 6.7 percentage points compared to H1 2024.
As shown in the following financial highlights slide, NatWest delivered growth across multiple metrics:
The bank’s strong financial performance was consistent across quarters, with Q2 2025 showing continued momentum. Total (EPA:TTEF) income excluding notable items reached £4.0 billion in Q2, slightly up from £3.95 billion in Q1, while attributable profit remained robust at £1.24 billion.
Loan and Deposit Growth
NatWest reported solid balance sheet growth, with customer loans increasing by 3.2% to £384 billion compared to December 2024. This growth was driven by increases across all business segments, with particularly strong performance in unsecured lending (+18%) and Commercial & Institutional (+4% in loans).
The following chart illustrates loan growth across the bank’s business segments:
Customer deposits also grew, albeit at a more modest pace of 1.0% to £436 billion compared to December 2024. The deposit mix remained stable, with non-interest-bearing balances accounting for 31% of total deposits.
Income Momentum and Margin Improvement
The bank’s income growth was supported by improvements in net interest margin, which reached 2.28% in Q2 2025, up from 2.10% in Q2 2024. This improvement occurred despite the declining interest rate environment, highlighting NatWest’s effective balance sheet management.
As shown in the following chart, income momentum remained strong through the first half of 2025:
Net interest income continued to benefit from the bank’s structural hedging program, which provides income tailwinds in a declining rate environment. NatWest’s hedging strategy is expected to deliver increasing benefits through 2026.
Capital Position and Shareholder Returns
NatWest maintained a strong capital position with a CET1 ratio of 13.6%, enabling significant returns to shareholders. The bank announced an interim dividend of 9.5p per share, representing a 58% increase compared to H1 2024, and a new £750 million share buyback program.
Total distributions to shareholders in H1 2025 amounted to approximately £1.5 billion. Tangible net asset value per share increased by 15.6% year-over-year to 351 pence.
Strengthened Outlook and Guidance
Based on the strong first-half performance, NatWest strengthened its full-year 2025 guidance. The bank now expects income excluding notable items to exceed £16 billion, up from the previous guidance of £15.2-15.7 billion. Return on tangible equity is projected to be above 16.5%, compared to the previous guidance of 15-16%.
The following table compares the previous guidance with the strengthened outlook:
CEO Paul Thwaite commented on the results: "Our disciplined growth strategy and focus on simplification are delivering strong returns for shareholders. The strengthened guidance reflects our confidence in the underlying performance of the business."
CFO Katie Murray added: "We’ve maintained strong cost discipline while investing in growth opportunities. Our capital generation remains robust, enabling us to increase returns to shareholders while maintaining balance sheet strength."
Strategic Priorities
NatWest highlighted progress against its strategic priorities, including disciplined growth, bank-wide simplification, and active balance sheet management. The bank added 1.1 million customers in H1 2025 and reported that the Sainsbury (LON:SBRY)’s Bank integration was on track.
Digital transformation remains a focus, with over 30 customer journeys digitized and AI tooling rolled out to all staff. The bank also introduced a new £200 billion Climate and Transition Finance target, building on its previous sustainable financing commitments.
NatWest shares closed at $13.57 on July 24, 2025, down 1.6% for the day. The stock has traded between $8.08 and $14.55 over the past 52 weeks, according to available market data.
Full presentation:
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