Close Brothers Group (CBG) H2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Business repositioned as a focused specialist bank with 1.6 million customers and a GBP 9.5 billion loan book across commercial, retail, and property divisions.

• Delivered on FY26 guidance with resumed loan book growth and robust capital position; all divisions grew in Q4.

• Accelerated cost savings achieved, with annualised savings expected to exceed GBP 60 million by end FY27.

• Strategy execution and simplification largely complete, focusing on three core divisions and scalable, efficient operations.

• Clear path to double-digit ROTE by FY28, with confidence in further growth and operational leverage.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted operating income down 6% to GBP 642.9 million due to repositioning, lower NIM, and reduced average loan book.

• Adjusted operating expenses down 3% to GBP 430.9 million, reflecting strong cost discipline.

• Adjusted operating profit GBP 120 million, down from GBP 144 million; statutory loss before tax reduced to GBP 60.3 million.

• Adjusted EPS GBP 0.475; return on average tangible equity 5.5%.

• No final dividend declared for FY26 due to ongoing legal uncertainty.

Outlook and guidance

• Underlying loan book growth expected within 5%-10% target range in FY27 and medium-term.

• Costs expected to remain stable at approximately GBP 430 million in FY27, targeting lower end of GBP 410-430 million by FY28.

• NIM expected to be slightly below FY26 due to business mix.

• Double-digit ROTE targeted by FY28, with further improvement thereafter.

• CET1 ratio expected to operate within 12%-13% medium-term range after Basel 3.1 implementation.