Higher deposit returns, helped by the rise to official interest rates, played a part in driving the higher results from the UK private banking group.

Coutts, the private banking arm of Natwest Group, today reported a 46 per cent year-on-year surge in income for the third quarter to £285 million (£328.9 million).

Improved results were driven by improved deposit returns supported by recent interest rate rises and higher deposit and lending balances.

Operating profit also surged by 48 per cent to £129 million, the UK-based organisation said in a statement.

The bank drew in more clients – up 23 per cent – to about 1,600, against about 1,300 new clients a year ago. In terms of net new money, it logged £300 million in Q3, against £700 million a year ago. So far this year, it has logged £1.7 billion in NNM, the bank said.

Performance meant Coutts chalked up return on equity of 31.8 per cent, almost doubling from 18.1 per cent a year before.

“I am pleased to announce another strong performance in the third quarter, ahead of consensus and the external market across our key performance metrics, despite the difficult market conditions,” Peter Flavel (pictured), CEO of Coutts, said.

He noted that total assets under management stood at £32.3 billion at the end of September.

“I am encouraged by the resilience and strength of today’s results given difficult and uncertain market and economic conditions, Flavel continued. “We will continue to prioritise supporting our clients through this period and remain strong in our commitment to balance purpose with profit and create a proposition that strives to provide our clients with responsible banking and wealth management solutions.”