The private banking arm of UK-listed , principally the business of Coutts, has reported today that operating profit came in at £94 million ($124 million) in the first quarter of this year, up from £77 million a year before, but down from £107 million in the final three months of 2025.

Total income rose to £291 million from £265 million; operating costs widened to £191 million from £187 million, the group, currently in the processes of buying UK wealth manager , said in a statement.

The quarter-on-quarter fall in total income mostly reflected the non-repeat of adjustments relating to transactional fees and effective interest rate adjustment review of customer loan repayment behaviour in in the final Q4 2025, as well as the impact of two fewer days in the quarter, partly offset by deposit margin expansion from strong hedge income. The year-on-year rise was largely driven by deposit margin expansion from strong hedge income and growth in assets under management and administration.

Impairment losses rose to £6 million from £1 million a year before.

The results meant that NatWest’s private banking and wealth management return on equity rose to 21.1 per cent from 17.1 per cent a year earlier; its net interest margin rose to 2.73 per cent from 2.59 per cent. 

There were £900 million of assets under management flows in the quarter, up from £800 million; total AuM stood at £43.3 billion at the end of March, up from £36.7 billion 12 months before, but a touch lower than the end of 2025. Total assets under administration rose to £13.4 billion from £11.8 billion, NatWest said.

“Our results for the first quarter are underpinned by exceptional client focus across PBWM. I’m proud of what we’ve delivered so far this year, and excited by the opportunities that the acquisition of Evelyn Partners will bring for clients and customers as we put financial advice and investment solutions into the hands of more people, whether they are experienced investors or taking their first steps in planning for their financial futures," Emma Crystal (pictured below), CEO, PBWM, NatWest Group, said.

Emma Crystal 

At group level, NatWest said profit after tax was £1.5 billion, up 2 per cent from the final three months of last year. 

NatWest said it achieved return on tangible equity of 18.2 per cent, a touch lower than in Q4 2025. Its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard international measure of a bank’s capital buffer, was 14.3 per cent – up from 14 per cent. 

Shares in NatWest - down about 14.4 per cent since the start of January, weakened by 3.8 per cent yesterday, around 11:00 BST on Friday, versus the open. In the 12-month period to last Friday, they are up 18.3 per cent.

This news service recently covered the decision by Coutts to hike its minimum wealth threshold on new clients to £3 million, and the implications for the wider industry.