Financial Results
NatWest's Private Bank Profits Rose In Q3 2024
Private bank profit rose at the UK-listed group, as did assets under management. Cost margins also improved over the quarter.
NatWest Group
has reported that its private banking arm – principally its
Coutts business – reported a sharp rise in operating profit to
£90 million ($116.7 million) for the three months to September
2024, from £59 million a year earlier, and also up from £66
million at the end of June.
Total income rose to £253 million in Q3 2024 from £214
million a year before; operating expenses rose to £166 million
from £157 million, NatWest said in a statement on
Friday.
The private banking division’s cost/income ratio, excluding
litigation, narrowed to 65.6 per cent from 73.4 per cent. There
were £900 million net inflows into the business in the
quarter, up from £200 million a year before.
Shares in the bank rose about 1.7 per cent on Friday, and were up
a touch this morning.
The rise in income was mainly caused by deposit margin expansion
and higher balances of assets under management and
administration, which boosted fee income, NatWest said. The net
interest margin was up 20 basis points from the second
quarter.
Total assets under management rose to £35.7 billion at the end of
September from £31.7 billion a year before. When assets under
administration are added, the total was £46.5 billion, up from
£40.8 billion, the bank said.
Across its entire group, NatWest said it logged an operating
pre-tax profit of £1.674 billion in Q3, rising from £1.332
billion. On an attributable basis, profit was £1.172 billion.
Return on tangible equity was 17 per cent.
The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard measure of a bank’s
shock absorber capital – was 13.9 per cent, up from 13.4 per cent
a year earlier.
Looking ahead, the bank said it predicts that it will expect a
return on tangible equity above 15 per cent for 2024. On the cost
side, NatWest said it expects them to be broadly stable this year
(when litigation and conduct costs are stripped out of the
figures). It expects its loan impairment rate to be below 15
basis points.
