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NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

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dealtn
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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#397095

Postby dealtn » March 19th, 2021, 1:06 pm

GoSeigen wrote:Decent return of capital there. Funny that HMG in the form of the regulator banned bank dividend payments one year ago, but this year is quite relaxed about accepting a huge payment, also from distributable profits! It's all dirty politics as usual.

GS


It would be funny if they banned dividends a year ago, and allowed a buyback last year.

Or, it would be funny if dividends were still banned this year and allowed a buyback this year.

Not quite so odd when buybacks are happening when dividends aren't banned.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#397101

Postby Dod101 » March 19th, 2021, 1:20 pm

Dod101 wrote:It is awash with capital. Even after the trading loss and the provisions, its CET Ratio is 18.5%. It is surprising that it is not announcing a share buyback.


The share buyback will surprise no one who read my post above on 19 February at the time of the announcement of their results for 2020. It has absolutely nothing to do with politics, dirty or otherwise. Merely the fact that it can afford to return some capital to the Government.

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#397107

Postby dealtn » March 19th, 2021, 1:32 pm

Dod101 wrote:
Dod101 wrote:It is awash with capital. Even after the trading loss and the provisions, its CET Ratio is 18.5%. It is surprising that it is not announcing a share buyback.


The share buyback will surprise no one who read my post above on 19 February at the time of the announcement of their results for 2020. It has absolutely nothing to do with politics, dirty or otherwise. Merely the fact that it can afford to return some capital to the Government.

Dod


It can afford to return Capital to all shareholders, but choose to only return some to a subset (who happen to be closely connected to politics). I am making no claims anything wrong has been done at any point, merely I don't believe it true this has "absolutely nothing to do with politics". It is quite probable the Board would prefer the Government stake to be smaller, and sufficiently smaller such that politicians don't represent a majority. That in itself makes it "something" to do with politics.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#397144

Postby Dod101 » March 19th, 2021, 3:00 pm

OK. In that narrow definition it is to do with politics. I am sure that the Government has said often enough that it would like to reduce its stake in NatWest. Embarking on a share buyback, it would make no sense whatever for Natwest to be buying back in the public market when there is that massive overhang in the Government stake.

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#397167

Postby GoSeigen » March 19th, 2021, 4:04 pm

To be clear, when I referred to dirty politics I meant the Govt's behaviour, not NatWest.

Also, the capital was returned to the shareholders as a class, not one individual shareholder. You can't really distinguish one shareholder from the others. Yes, one took cash, but all the others feel the effect of the return of capital in the form of a greater share of future cashflows (which the one shareholder now forfeits).

GS

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#408006

Postby daveh » April 29th, 2021, 12:39 pm

1st qtr IMS:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00099891W/

"NatWest Group's profit in the first quarter of 2021 is a result of a good operating performance in our core franchises as well as modest impairment releases that reflect the better than expected performance of our loan book across the first three months of the year.



We continue to make progress against our strategic targets; growing in key areas, simplifying the bank and accelerating our digital transformation to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers. We are also pleased that we were able to use some of our excess capital to buy back shares from the UK Government.



Defaults remain low as a result of the UK Government support schemes and there are reasons for optimism with the vaccine programmes progressing at pace and restrictions being eased. However, there is continuing uncertainty for our economy and for many of our customers as a result of COVID-19. Our capital strength and well-diversified balance sheet means NatWest Group is well positioned to help people, families and businesses to rebuild and thrive.



We are building a relationship bank for a digital world. A bank that champions potential and plays a positive role in society in order to build long-term value and drive sustainable returns for our shareholders."



Good financial performance in a challenging environment with better than expected performance of the loan portfolio

● Q1 2021 operating profit before tax of £946 million and an attributable profit of £620 million.

● Income across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, decreased by £203 million, or 8.0%, compared with Q1 2020 reflecting the lower yield curve, subdued transactional business activity and lower consumer spending, partially offset by balance sheet growth.

● Bank net interest margin (NIM) of 1.64% was 2 basis points lower than Q4 2020 principally reflecting lower structural hedge income, 3 basis points, partly offset by mortgage margin improvement, 1 basis point.

● Other expenses, excluding operating lease depreciation (OLD) and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs, were £72 million, or 4.5%, lower than Q1 2020.

● A net impairment release of £102 million in Q1 2021 reflects releases in non-default portfolios, principally in Commercial Banking.



Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels



● CET1 ratio of 18.2% was 30 basis points lower than Q4 2020, reflecting the directed buy back, associated pension contribution, and foreseeable dividend accrual partially offset by the reduction in RWAs and the attributable profit for the period.

● The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 158%, representing £64.9 billion above 100%, decreased by 7 percentage points compared with Q4 2020, following a repayment of the Term Funding Scheme with additional incentives for SMEs (TFSME).

● Net lending decreased by £1.8 billion to £358.7 billion in comparison to Q4 2020. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, net lending excluding UK Government support schemes, increased by £2.2 billion, or 3.0% on an annualised basis, including £3.4 billion related to mortgages. Retail Banking gross new mortgage lending was £9.6 billion in the quarter.

● Customer deposits increased by £21.6 billion compared with Q4 2020 to £453.3 billon. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses customer deposits increased by £12.1 billion, or 3.0%, as customers sought to retain liquidity and reduced spending. T reasury repo activity drove a further £10.9 billion increase in the quarter.

● RWAs decreased by £5.6 billion compared with Q4 2020 mainly reflecting reductions in Retail Banking and Commercial Banking.



Outlook(1)

We retain the outlook guidance provided in the 2020 Annual Results document.



and like Lloyds the are accruing dividends for later payment which seems to be detailed in note 6 quoted below.



Capital and leverage

Following the successful directed buy back in March 2021, the CET1 ratio remains robust at 18.2%, or 17.2% excluding IFRS 9 transitional relief. The 30 basis points reduction in the quarter reflected the directed buy back, and associated pension contribution, 72 basis points, and foreseeable dividend accrual, 11 basis points, partially offset by the reduction in RWAs and the attributable profit for the period. The total capital ratio decreased by 50 basis points in the quarter to 24.0%.

RWAs of £164.7 billion decreased by £5.6 billion, or 3.3%, in the quarter reflecting business movements, including lower unsecured lending, of £2.5 billion, risk parameter improvements of £1.0 billion, Commercial Banking capital management activity and FX movements of £1.3 billion.

TNAV per share was in line with Q4 2020 at 261 pence as the attributable profit and directed buy back were offset by movements in FX reserves, cash flow hedging reserves and the dividend linked pension contribution.

The UK leverage ratio of 6.2% decreased by 20 basis points in the quarter.


Note (6)

The pro forma CET1 ratio at 31 March 2021 excludes foreseeable charges of £547 million for ordinary dividend including £200 million (11bps) in Q1 2021 (31 December 2020 excludes foreseeable charges of £364 million for ordinary dividend (3p per share) and £266 million pension contribution). At 31 March 2020 there was no charge in CET1 for foreseeable dividends or charges.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#408021

Postby Dod101 » April 29th, 2021, 1:09 pm

They still have more capital than they seem to know what to do with. Still, not a bad problem to have.

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#431377

Postby daveh » July 30th, 2021, 9:24 am

Interim Results
Part 1 https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00069945G/
Part 2 https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00069947G/


Interim Results for the period ending 30 June 2021

Alison Rose, Chief Executive Officer, commented:



"These results have been driven by good operating performances across the Group, underpinned by a robust loan book and a strong capital position. Defaults remain low and, given the improved outlook, we have released a further £0.6 billion of impairment provisions in the quarter. While we see the potential for a more rapid recovery, we will continue to take an appropriate and conservative approach as the government schemes wind down and the economy reopens.

As a result of our strong and resilient performance, coupled with our capital strength and cautiously optimistic outlook, we are announcing an interim dividend of 3p per share and share buy-back of up to £750 million. We are also increasing our minimum annual distribution to shareholders to £1.0 billion for the next three years. Taken together, this means our total distributions for 2021 will be a minimum of £2.9 billion.

We continue to make progress against our strategic targets and to accelerate our digital transformation as we build a bank that is relevant to our customers in every region of the UK and supports them at every stage of their lives. As the UK's leading business bank, we are determined to remove barriers to entry and help the economy build back better. Against the background of an ongoing pandemic, our commitment to helping people, families and businesses to rebuild and thrive has never been more important. Because if they thrive, so will we."

Financial performance in a challenging environment


· H1 2021 operating profit before tax of £2,505 million compared with an operating loss before tax of £770 million in H1 2020. H1 2021 attributable profit of £1,842 million.

· Income across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, decreased by £160 million, or 3.3%, compared with H1 2020 reflecting the lower yield curve and subdued transactional business activity, partially offset by balance sheet growth. NatWest Markets (NWM) income, excluding asset disposals/strategic risk reduction and OCA, decreased by £492 million, or 59.6%, compared with H1 2020 reflecting the exceptional level of market activity generated by the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the prior period, together with weak performance in the Fixed Income business in the current period.

· Bank net interest margin (NIM) of 1.61% decreased by 3 basis points compared with Q1 2021 principally reflecting increased levels of liquidity.

· Other expenses, excluding operating lease depreciation (OLD) and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs, were £185 million, or 5.9% lower than H1 2020.

· A net impairment release of £707 million in the first half of 2021 mainly reflects releases in non-default portfolios as a result of the improved economic outlook.



Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels

· CET1 ratio of 18.2% was in line with Q1 2021.

· An interim dividend of 3 pence per share is proposed.

· The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 164%, representing £75.3 billion headroom above 100% minimum requirement, increased by 6 percentage points compared with Q1 2021, reflecting the continued growth in customer deposits.

· Net lending increased by £2.2 billion to £362.7 billion during H1 2021. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, net lending excluding UK Government support schemes, increased by £4.1 billion, or 2.8% on an annualised basis, including £7.0 billion of mortgage growth.

· Customer deposits increased by £35.5 billion during H1 2021 to £467.2 billon, as customers sought to retain liquidity and reduced spending. Treasury repo activity drove £11.5 billion of balance growth.

· RWAs decreased by £7.3 billion to £163.0 billion during H1 2021 mainly reflecting business movements in Commercial Banking.



Outlook (1)

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines over the first half of 2021 has contributed towards an improved economic outlook. Our central forecasts are disclosed on pages 20 to 23. The outlook remains subject to significant uncertainty and we will continue to refine our internal forecast as the economic position evolves. We retain the guidance provided at the full year results announcement with the exception of the following:

· We now expect NatWest Markets exit/disposal costs and the impact of Commercial Banking capital management actions to total a combined £150 million in 2021;

· Noting impairment losses in the first half of 2021 were a net release of £707 million, we now expect the 2021 full year impairment loss to be a net release;

· We now expect NatWest Group RWAs to be below or at the lower end of our previously guided range of £185-195 billion on 1 January 2022;

· NatWest Group now aims to distribute a minimum of £1 billion per annum from 2021 to 2023, via a combination of ordinary and special dividends, and intends to commence an ordinary share buy-back programme of up to £750 million in the second half of the year.




Dividends

The 2020 final dividend was approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2021 and the payment made on 4 May 2021 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 26 March 2021. NatWest Group plc announces an interim dividend for 2021 of £347 million, or 3p per ordinary share. The interim dividend will be paid on 17 September 2021 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 13 August 2021. The ex-dividend date will be 12 August 2021.


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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#431379

Postby Dod101 » July 30th, 2021, 9:39 am

They still have money coming out their ears with a CET ratio of 18.2%, by far the highest of those that have declared so far. I wonder what HSBC will say on Monday?

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#431407

Postby daveh » July 30th, 2021, 10:58 am

Dod101 wrote:They still have money coming out their ears with a CET ratio of 18.2%, by far the highest of those that have declared so far. I wonder what HSBC will say on Monday?

Dod


Maybe a special next year with either the interim or final.

I wonder if the £0.75b buy back will be an on market buy back, or of some of the UK Governments holding, a quick look through the results doesn't say. I think if I was the government I'd retain the shares at the moment, collect the dividend and hope to sell my holding down at a better price in the future. As a share holder I'd like to see the Governments holding reducing over time.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#431410

Postby Dod101 » July 30th, 2021, 11:06 am

I assumed that it was a market buyback. I have no real interest though but I think that Sunak and his colleagues would be best to hang on because it could be that all of the banks will be having a decent 2021 and 2022 as the recovery gets well underway and they are still somewhat restrained in their dividend payouts.

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#431461

Postby Alaric » July 30th, 2021, 12:53 pm

Dod101 wrote:it could be that all of the banks will be having a decent 2021 and 2022 as the recovery gets well underway and they are still somewhat restrained in their dividend payouts.


With the reluctance of banks to allow the public onto their premises, does that reduce their opportunities for cross-selling? That's likely to be positive for profitability given that cross-selling has a track record of becoming mis-selling.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#454079

Postby daveh » October 29th, 2021, 10:30 am

third qtr results
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00066499Q/

Q3 2021 Interim Management Statement



Alison Rose, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Throughout Q3 2021, NatWest continued to deliver a strong operating performance; growing in key areas and accelerating our digital transformation to improve customer experience and make our business more efficient. Our robust capital position means that we have been able to buy back £402 million of our shares to date(1) whilst also investing for growth as we support our customers and drive sustainable returns to our shareholders.

Although we are seeing challenges in the economy and for our customers - especially around supply chains and the cost of living - a number of key indicators remain positive; growth is good, unemployment is low and there are limited signs of default across our book. We have a vital role to play in helping the 19 million people, families and businesses we serve in communities throughout the UK to thrive. Because when they thrive, so do we.

NatWest Group has made addressing the climate challenge and supporting our customers through the transition a key strategic priority. We recently announced a new target to deliver an additional £100 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025, having exceeded our initial two-year target of £20 billion in less than 18 months."



Financial performance in a challenging environment

● Q3 2021 operating profit before tax of £1,074 million, attributable profit of £674 million and a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 8.5%.

● Income across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, increased by £103 million, or 4.4%, compared with Q3 2020 principally reflecting balance sheet growth. NatWest Markets (NWM) income, excluding asset disposals/strategic risk reduction and OCA, decreased by £175 million, or 62.5%, compared with Q3 2020 reflecting continued weakness in Fixed Income which was impacted by subdued levels of customer activity and ongoing reshaping of the business.

● Bank net interest margin (NIM) excluding Liquid Asset Buffer (LAB) decreased by 6 basis points to 2.34% compared with Q2 2021 principally reflecting the Q2 2021 tax variable lease repricing in Commercial Banking. Bank NIM of 1.54% decreased by 7 basis points.

● Other expenses, excluding operating lease depreciation (OLD) and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs, were £198 million, or 4.3% lower for the year to date.

● A net impairment release of £242 million in Q3 2021 mainly reflects releases in non-default portfolios, principally in Commercial Banking.

Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels

● CET1 ratio of 18.7% was 50 basis points higher than Q2 2021 largely reflecting the attributable profit and reduction in RWAs partially offset by the foreseeable dividend accrual.

● The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 166%, representing £78.6 billion headroom above 100% minimum requirement, increased by 2 percentage points compared with Q2 2021, reflecting continued growth in customer deposits.

● Net lending decreased by £1.7 billion to £361.0 billion during Q3 2021. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, net lending excluding UK Government support schemes increased by £2.9 billion, including £2.5 billion related to mortgage growth, with year to date annualised growth of 3.1%.

● Customer deposits increased by £9.1 billion compared with Q2 2021 to £476.3 billion. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses customer deposits increased by £8.5 billion, or 2.0%, largely due to customers continuing to build and retain liquidity and higher short term placements in RBS International (RBSI).

● RWAs decreased by £3.2 billion to £159.8 billion during Q3 2021 mainly reflecting business movements in Commercial Banking and unwinding of the Q2 2021 increase in NWM following regulatory approval to update the VaR model to remove the impact of GBP LIBOR cessation.


Outlook(2)

We retain the outlook guidance provided in the 2021 Interim Results document, except:

· We no longer expect to achieve the majority of the remaining RWA reduction towards the medium term target in NWM of £20 billion this year; and

· We now expect Group RWAs to be below our previously guided range of £185-195 billion on 1 January 2022.



(1) At 27 October 2021.

(2) The guidance, targets, expectations and trends discussed in this section represent NatWest Group plc management's current expectations and are subject to change, including as a result of the factors described in the NatWest Group plc Risk Factors section on pages 345 to 362 of the 2020 Annual Report and Accounts, pages 112 and 113 of the NatWest Group plc 2021 Interim Results, pages 156 to 172 of the NatWest Markets Plc 2020 Annual Report and Accounts and on pages 48 and 49 of the NatWest Markets Plc 2021 Interim Results. These statements constitute forward-looking statements. Refer to Forward-looking statements in this announcement.




I've had a brief read through all of the results (just a skim read) not sure what to make of them.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#454085

Postby Dod101 » October 29th, 2021, 10:40 am

Apart from the fact that they are awash I cannot help you very much as I have no interest in them.

Dod

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#465609

Postby monabri » December 13th, 2021, 10:50 pm

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/1 ... -bin-bags/

"A Bradford based jewellery business suspected of money laundering deposited £700,000 in cash in black bin bags at a NatWest branch in a single day, a court has heard."

"Fowler Oldfield, which specialised in gold bullion dealing, had a predicted annual turnover of £15 million a year.
But during a three-year period the business managed to deposit £365 million, including £264 million in cash, with NatWest."

Not suspicious at all!

"Fowler Oldfield was closed down following a police raid in 2016 and a total of 15 people with connections to the business have been charged in relation to the alleged laundering offences."

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#466658

Postby daveh » December 17th, 2021, 8:39 am

https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 25030178W/

NatWest Group Progress on Phased Withdrawal from Republic of Ireland: Ulster Bank Ireland DAC announces signing of Legally Binding Agreement with Permanent TSB plc

As part of the phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland, NatWest Group plc ("NatWest Group") and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC ("UBIDAC") announced on 23 July 2021 that they had entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Permanent TSB plc ("PTSB") for the proposed sale of a perimeter comprising performing non-tracker mortgages, performing micro-SME loans, UBIDAC's asset finance business and a subset of its branch locations.

NatWest Group and UBIDAC have now entered into a legally binding agreement with PTSB in relation to the sale of the above perimeter, which comprises approximately €7.6bn of gross performing loans as at 30 June 2021 and 25 branch locations. Credit risk weighted assets ("RWA") associated with this perimeter are estimated at €3.1bn as at 30 June 2021.

Completion, which is subject to obtaining competition, regulatory and other approvals, including PTSB's holding company shareholder approval, and other conditions being satisfied, is expected to occur in phases between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. The majority of loans are expected to transfer in Q4 2022. It is estimated that a loss on disposal will be recognised by UBIDAC upon completion although the final amount will depend on movements in the book and other factors between now and completion, the timing of which remains uncertain.

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#481253

Postby daveh » February 18th, 2022, 9:14 am

Finals:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00090786C/

NatWest Group delivered a strong performance in 2021 as we returned to profitability, made progress against our strategy and distributed more than £3.8 billion of capital to our shareholders, including £1.7 billion to the taxpayer.

We are acutely aware of the challenges that many people, families and businesses continue to face up and down the country and are working alongside our customers to provide the support they need - whether that is managing their money better, saving for a house or retirement or starting or growing a new business - as well as playing a leading role in the transition to net zero.

As our economy recovers and the trend towards digital services accelerates, we are investing to deliver long term value in the bank and drive sustainable growth. We will do this by building closer and deeper relationships with our customers and by supporting their evolving needs and expectations at every stage of their lives.

Resilient financial performance in a challenging environment

- Full year attributable profit of £2,950 million and a return on tangible equity of 9.4%.

- Income across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, increased by 1.4% compared with 2020 principally reflecting balance sheet growth although this was offset by a 61.5% reduction in NatWest Markets income.

- Q4 2021 Bank NIM(1) of 2.38% was 3 basis points higher than Q3 2021 reflecting higher yield curve and higher unsecured balances partly offset by lower mortgage margins.

- Other expenses, excluding operating lease depreciation and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs, were £256 million, or 4.0% lower than 2020, in line with our target for the year.

- A net impairment release of £1,278 million, or 35 basis points of gross customer loans, principally reflects releases in non-default portfolios and the low levels of realised losses we have seen across the year.

- A final dividend of 7.5p is proposed and we intend to commence an ordinary share buy-back programme of up to £750 million in the first half of the year, taking total distributions deducted from capital in the year to £3.8 billion.


Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels

- The CET1 ratio remains strong at 18.2%, reducing by 50 basis points in the quarter due to our proposed on market buybacks and dividends. On 1 January 2022, the proforma CET1 ratio was 15.9% following regulatory changes.

- The liquidity coverage ratio of 172% increased by 6 percentage points in the quarter.

- Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, net lending excluding UK Government support schemes increased by £7.8 billion, or 2.6%, including £10.8 billion of mortgage growth, and increased by £0.8 billion in Q4 2021.

- Customer deposits increased by £48.1 billion during 2021 to £479.8 billion.

(1) Excludes NatWest Markets, Liquid Asset Buffer and Ulster Bank RoI.





Capital and funding

- We aim to end 2022 with a CET1 ratio of around 14% and target a ratio of 13-14% by 2023.

- We intend to maintain ordinary dividends of around 40% of attributable profit and to distribute a minimum of £1 billion in each of 2022 and 2023 via a combination of ordinary and special dividends.

- We intend to maintain capacity to participate in directed buybacks of the UK Government stake, recognising that any exercise of this authority would be dependent upon HMT's intentions and is limited to 4.99% of issued share capital in any 12-month period.

- We will consider further on-market buybacks, in addition to the £750 million announced today, as part of our overall capital distribution approach as well as inorganic opportunities provided they are consistent with our strategy and have a strong shareholder value case.

- As part of the NatWest Group capital and funding plans we intend to issue between £3 billion to £5 billion of MREL-compliant instruments in 2022, with a continued focus on issuance under our Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework. NatWest Markets plc's funding plan targets £4 billion to £5 billion of public benchmark issuance.



We are pleased to report a 2021 attributable profit of £2,950 million, with earnings per share of 25.4 pence and a RoTE of 9.4%. A final dividend of 7.5 pence per share is proposed, bringing our total 2021 paid and proposed capital distributions to £3.8 billion through a combination of ordinary dividends, directed buybacks of the UK Government stake and our on-market buyback programme.

7. Dividends

The company has announced that the directors have recommended a final dividend of £844 million, or 7.5p per ordinary share (2020 - £364 million, or 3.0p) subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2022.

If approved, payment will be made on 4 May 2022 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18 March 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 17 March 2022.



Two additional RNSs
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00170787C/
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00330794C/

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#489721

Postby daveh » March 28th, 2022, 11:05 am

Natwest buys back shares from HMG:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00092036G/

28 March 2022

Off-market purchase of 549,851,147 ordinary shares from Her Majesty's Treasury ("HM Treasury") resulting in HM Treasury's voting rights in NatWest Group falling below 50%

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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#518112

Postby daveh » July 29th, 2022, 9:55 am

Interim Results
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00131756U/
https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00191757U/

plus Results for Natwest Markets (That I've not perused yet)

https://www.investegate.co.uk/natwest-g ... 00331750U/

Interim results for the period ended 30 June 2022



Chief Executive, Alison Rose, commented

"NatWest Group delivered a strong performance in the first half of 2022, building on two years of progress against our strategic priorities. We are growing our lending to customers and continuing our £3 billion investment programme to create a simpler and better banking experience whilst delivering sustainable dividends and returns for our shareholders.



We know that continued increases in the cost of living are impacting people, families and businesses across the UK and we have put in place a range of targeted measures to support those who are likely to need it most. Our strong levels of profitability and capital generation mean we are well positioned to provide this support.



By building deeper relationships with our customers at every stage of their lives, we will deliver sustainable growth and help them to thrive in a challenging environment."



Strong H1 2022 performance


- H1 2022 attributable profit of £1,891 million and a return on tangible equity of 13.1%. The cost:income ratio was 58.3% in the first half compared with 67.6% in H1 2021.

- Excluding notable items, income in the Go-forward group increased by £819 million, or 16.2%, compared with H1 2021 principally reflecting the impact of base rate increases and volume growth.

- Bank net interest margin (NIM) of 2.72% was 26 basis points higher than Q1 2022 driven by the impact of base rate rises.

- Other operating expenses in the Go-forward group were £50 million, or 1.5%, lower than H1 2021.

- H1 2022 operating profit before impairments in the Go-forward group was £2,787 million, up 53.5% on H1 2021.

- A net impairment release of £46 million in the Go-forward group in H1 2022 reflected the low levels of realised losses we continue to see across our portfolio, although we continue to monitor our book given the uncertain economic outlook.



Robust balance sheet underpins sustainable growth


- Go-forward group net lending increased by £9.3 billion during H1 2022 to £361.6 billion, with growth well balanced across the business.

- Customer deposits in the Go-forward group increased by £14.8 billion during H1 2022 to £476.2 billon.

- The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 159%, representing £76.1 billion above 100%, decreased by 13 percentage points compared with Q4 2021.



Continued strong capital generation supports substantial distributions to shareholders

- We are pleased to announce an interim dividend of 3.5 pence per share, up 17% on 2021 and a special dividend with share consolidation of £1,750 million, or 16.8 pence per share, subject to shareholder approval. Taken together these will deliver 20.3p of dividends per share.

- When combined with the directed buyback in the first quarter, the proposed interim and special dividends bring total distributions deducted from capital in the first half to £3.3 billion, or c.32 pence per share.

- CET1 ratio of 14.3% was c.160 basis points lower than 1 January 2022 as total distributions of c.190 basis points and increased RWAs of c.30 basis points were partially offset by the attributable profit of c.110 basis points.

- RWAs increased by £3.5 billion compared to 1 January 2022 to £179.8 billion.


Outlook(1)

The economic outlook remains uncertain. The following statements are based on central economic forecasts, as detailed on pages 20 to 22, which include an anticipated increase in the central bank rate to 2.0% by the end of the year. We will monitor and react to market conditions and refine our internal forecasts as the economic position evolves.

- In 2022, we expect income excluding notable items to be around £12.5 billion in the Go-forward group(2).

- We expect NIM to be greater than 2.70% for full year 2022 in the Go-forward group.

- We are investing around £3 billion(3) over 2021 to 2023 and, with continuing simplification, we plan to reduce Go-forward group operating expenses, excluding litigation and conduct costs, by around 3% in 2022 and to keep broadly stable in 2023, with positive jaws. In 2023 we expect some of the current inflationary impacts to be more significant, however this will be offset by ongoing savings from our investment programme.

- We expect our 2022 and 2023 impairment charge to be lower than our through the cycle loss rate of 20-30 basis points, with 2022 below 10 basis points in the Go-forward group.

- In 2023, we expect to achieve a return on tangible equity in the range of 14-16% for the Group.



Capital and funding

- We aim to end 2022 with a CET1 ratio of around 14% and target a ratio of 13-14% by 2023.

- We intend to maintain ordinary dividends of around 40% of attributable profit and to distribute a minimum of £1 billion in each of 2022 and 2023.

- We intend to maintain capacity to participate in directed buybacks of the UK Government stake, recognising that any exercise of this authority would be dependent upon HMT's intentions and is limited to 4.99% of issued share capital in any 12-month period.

- We will consider further on-market buybacks as part of our overall capital distribution approach as well as inorganic growth opportunities provided they are consistent with our strategy and have a strong shareholder value case.

- As part of the NatWest Group capital and funding plans we intend to issue between £3 billion to £5 billion of MREL-compliant instruments in 2022, with a continued focus on issuance under our Green, Social and Sustainability Bond framework. NatWest Markets plc's funding plan targets £4 billion to £5 billion of public benchmark issuance.



Ulster Bank RoI

- We have made significant progress on our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland and have binding agreements in place for c.90% of gross customer loans. We expect the majority of the commercial asset sale to Allied Irish Banks and the majority of the asset sale to Permanent TSB to be largely complete by the end of 2022 and for the tracker mortgage asset sale to Allied Irish Banks to complete in the first half of 2023.

- With this progress, we continue to expect total exit costs of €900 million, with the majority incurred by the end of 2023. In Q3 2022 we expect to incur around €350 million of these exit costs as a result of the reclassification of UBIDAC mortgages to fair value.

- We continue to expect the phased withdrawal to be capital accretive.



(1) The guidance, targets, expectations, and trends discussed in this section represent NatWest Group plc management's current expectations and are subject to change, including as a result of the factors described in the NatWest Group plc Risk Factors section on pages 406 to 426 of the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts and the Summary Risk Factors on pages 106 and 107 of this announcement. These statements constitute forward-looking statements. Refer to Forward-looking statements in this announcement.

(2) Go-forward group excludes Ulster Bank RoI and discontinued operations.

(3) Denotes cash investment spend excluding certain regulatory and legacy programmes.



Our Purpose in action

We champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive. We are breaking down barriers, building financial confidence and delivering sustainable growth and returns by living up to our purpose. Some key achievements from H1 2022 include:



People and families

- We have proactively contacted 2.7 million personal and business customers year to date, offering support and information on the cost of living. We have also launched an online Cost of Living hub to share resources and tools, and to inform customers of the support that is available to them through third parties.

- We delivered 3.7 million financial capability interactions in H1 2022, including carrying out 0.4 million financial health checks.

- In Retail Banking, we have completed £1.4 billion of green mortgages (which give a discounted interest rate to energy efficient properties) since they were launched in Q4 2020, including £661 million in H1 2022.

- Our support for young people continues with the launch of our new pocket money product, NatWest Rooster Money, which helps children build money confidence and develop positive money habits around saving and spending. We acquired Rooster

along with 130,000 customers and since the beginning of the year added 17,000 new customers plus a smooth connection to Rooster via the main Mobile App.



Businesses


- We completed £11.9 billion of climate and sustainable funding and financing in H1 2022, bringing the cumulative contribution to £20.0 billion against our target of £100 billion between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.

- We announced an additional £1.25 billion lending package to the UK farming community and our 40,000 customers within it, building on an earlier set of measures for the sector announced in June 2022.

- To provide certainty to SMEs, Business Current Accounts remain available without a minimum charge and we are freezing the standard published tariffs on these accounts for the next 12 months.

- NatWest Markets won the 'Most Impressive Investment Bank for Corporate Green and ESG-Linked Bonds' as well as the 'Most Impressive FIG (Financial Institutions Group) House in Sterling' at the 2022 Global Capital Bond Awards in June 2022.



Colleagues

- To support our colleagues with the rising cost of living, we announced a permanent increase in base pay averaging £1,000 for more than 22,000 colleagues globally.

- We announced a three-year partnership with the University of Edinburgh to make climate education available to all colleagues across the bank, including the delivery of more in-depth Climate Change Transformation and Sector Specific programmes for over 16,000 roles which require a broader level of knowledge.

- To support our colleagues who are carers, unpaid carers' leave can now be taken day-by-day, instead of only in full-week blocks, up to a maximum of four weeks in a year, and up to a maximum of 18 weeks in total.

- Building on our campaign to support learning for the future, colleagues are now able to take two dedicated, learning-for-the-future days each year to support the development of future skills.



Communities

- To help with the rising cost of living, we announced a new £4 million hardship fund to provide grants and support, delivered through partner organisations including Citizens Advice, StepChange and Money Advice Trust.

- We launched the pilot scheme for the NatWest Thrive with Marcus Rashford programme. The programme aims to help more young people pursue their dreams, appreciate their strengths and become more money confident.

- In collaboration with Aston University, we published the report 'Time to change: A blueprint for advancing the UK's ethnic minority businesses', which sets out recommendations for policymakers, companies and entrepreneurs to advance the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses.

- To champion female entrepreneurship in the UK, NatWest Group and The Telegraph launched the '100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch' list. 10 female entrepreneurs will be selected from the list for further support, and one business will receive a £10,000 investment grant from NatWest Group as well as a year's mentorship from a Rose Review board member.

- We pledged £100,000 to support 500 Ukrainian students to continue their studies at Polish universities and polytechnics following the Russian invasion.



and from part 2 on dividends:

13. Dividends

The 2021 final dividend was approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2022 and the payment made on 4 May 2022 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18 March 2022.

NatWest Group plc announces an interim dividend for 2022 of £364 million, or 3.5 pence per ordinary share. The interim dividend will be paid on 16 September 2022 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 26 August 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 25 August 2022.

NatWest Group plc also announces that the directors have recommended a special dividend of £1,750 million, or 16.8 pence per share, and associated share consolidation, each will be subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting on 25 August 2022. A circular containing details of the special dividend and share consolidation, as well as a notice convening a General Meeting of shareholders and a class meeting of ordinary shareholders and details of the resolutions to be considered at that General Meeting and class meeting, is expected to be published shortly. If approved by shareholders, assuming that all other conditions are satisfied, the special dividend is expected to be paid on 16 September 2022 to shareholders on the register on 26 August 2022. The ex-entitlement date for the special dividend will be 30 August 2022.



Personally I could do without the complication of a special with consolidation as my new rules for dealing with specials is if they come with a consolidation I treat them as a return of capital in my spreadsheet rather than a dividend and (unlike other recent specials) this one is, for me, not particularly large so wouldn't have distorted the dividend record and would be easier if they hadn't bothered with the consolidation. I'm also not sure about the ex date for the special being 4 days after the record date - seems a bit odd.

daveh
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Re: NatWest Group PLC (NWG)

#518130

Postby daveh » July 29th, 2022, 11:27 am

daveh wrote:
Personally I could do without the complication of a special with consolidation as my new rules for dealing with specials is if they come with a consolidation I treat them as a return of capital in my spreadsheet rather than a dividend and (unlike other recent specials) this one is, for me, not particularly large so wouldn't have distorted the dividend record and would be easier if they hadn't bothered with the consolidation. I'm also not sure about the ex date for the special being 4 days after the record date - seems a bit odd.



Having now played around with my spreadsheet the special turns out to be not so insignificant in monetary terms as I thought, not as large as the Aviva special earlier in the year only a few hundred pounds rather than a few thousand, but more than I thought. It seems I topped up NWG early this year which, due to the low price/share, bought a significant number of shares compared to my original holding bought at very much higher prices pre the GFC. So it will definitely have to be treated as capital return for my spreadsheet.


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