{"id":107765,"title":"NatWest Group PLC profit beats City expectations","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2023-04-28T07:08:04+00:00","modified":"2023-04-28T07:08:04+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/natwest-group-plc-profit-beats-city-expectations/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/natwest-group-plc-profit-beats-city-expectations.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/natwest-group-plc-profit-beats-city-expectations.json","category":"B2B","categories":["B2B","Business & Support Services","Technology","Technology, Media & Telecoms"],"tags":["Aberdeen","BANK","banking","branch","Edinburgh","Financial","Glasgow","local","NatWest","Retail","Scotland","services","UK"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Stencil-Google-Chrome-2023-04-19-at-2.47.43-PM.jpeg?fit=1231%2C615&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"**NatWest Group PLC (LSE: NWG)** has reported strong growth in revenue and profit for the first quarter, although competition has led to a decrease in deposits.\n\nThe FTSE 100-listed lender described its Q1 2023 performance as “strong,” reporting an operating profit before tax of £1.82bn, up from £1.22bn from the previous year, and surpassing the City’s expected forecast of £1.6bn.\n\nNatWest Group’s Chief Executive, Alison Rose, stated that the Q1 2023 performance was due to the lender’s robust balance sheet, high levels of capital and liquidity, and well-diversified loan book.\n\nTotal income increased by 37.2% to £1.04bn, primarily due to volume growth and yield curve movements. The bank also benefited from a rise in net interest margin, which climbed 7 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter to 3.27%.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/Share_Talk/status/1651831050518032385?s=20\n\nHowever, customer deposits were reduced by £11.1bn or 2.6% during the quarter, reflecting the impact of higher customer tax payments, competition for deposits, and an overall market liquidity contraction.\n\nThe CET1 ratio increased by 20 bps to 14.4%, while operating expenses rose by 12.5% due to higher staff costs and the exit from the Republic of Ireland. The lender made a bad debt provision of £70mln but confirmed that default levels remain stable at low levels.\n\nNatWest Group reported an increase in lending to customers of 1.6% to £352.4bn, reflecting £3.9bn of mortgage growth in Retail Banking and a £1.6bn increase in Commercial & Institutional. The return on tangible equity was 19.8%, nearly double last year’s 11.3%, but down from 20.6% in Q4.\n\nThe lender has maintained its guidance for the current financial year despite a decline in deposits."}