NatWest Group (NWG) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 attributable profit was £1.532bn, operating profit £2.225bn and ROTE 21.6%; 9M ROTE reached 20.2%.

• CAL reached £1,002.6bn, up £15.7bn QoQ, with lending, deposits and assets under management growing across the three businesses.

• 9M income excluding notable items rose 9.3%; capital generation was 208bps, and management cited a fourth consecutive year above 17% ROTE.

Financial highlights

• Q3 total income was £4.640bn, up 3.0% QoQ; excluding notable items, income was £4.587bn, up 3.1%. 9M income excluding notable items was £13.259bn, up 9.3%.

• Q3 operating profit was £2.225bn and attributable profit £1.532bn, down 2.6% and 4.4% QoQ, respectively; 9M attributable profit rose 11.8% to £4.567bn.

• Q3 operating expenses were £2.138bn and impairment losses £277m; the 9M impairment charge was £700m versus £535m in 9M'25.

• 9M net interest income was £10.449bn, up 11.3%; non-interest income excluding notable items was £2.810bn, up 2.6%.

• Q3 basic EPS was 19.3p versus 20.1p in Q2; 9M EPS was 57.4p, up 13.2% YoY.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 income excluding notable items remains expected at ~£17.9bn, including ~£275m from Evelyn Partners; operating costs excluding litigation and conduct remain ~£8.5bn, including ~£300m from Evelyn Partners.

• 2026 loan impairment rate is expected below 25bps, ROTE above 19%, and capital generation pre-distributions above 240bps excluding Evelyn Partners' acquisition impact, or above 100bps reported.

• 2026 CET1 target remains ~13%; ordinary dividend payout is expected near 50% of attributable profit, with the next buyback announcement alongside FY'26 results.

• 2027 NIM is expected to be broadly stable; structural hedge income is expected to exceed 2026 by >£1bn, with bank rate and five-year swap assumptions of 4%.

• By 2028, targets include CAL CAGR above 4% from end-2025, cost:income ratio below 45% excluding litigation and conduct, ROTE above 18% and capital generation above 200bps pre-distributions.