NatWest Group on Friday reported a jump in third-quarter profit and raised its full-year guidance for income and returns, citing strong lending growth across its businesses.
The British lender posted a profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of 1.6 billion British Pounds for the three months ended Sept. 30, up from 1.2 billion British Pounds in the same period last year.
The company said it now expects total income for 2025, excluding certain items, to be around 16.3 billion British Pounds and to achieve a return on tangible equity of more than 18.0%.
The strong performance was driven by a 4.4 billion British Pound increase in net loans to customers during the quarter, while customer deposits remained broadly stable, according to the company.
"As a result of our consistent delivery and capital generation, we have upgraded our income and returns guidance for 2025 and are well placed to support our customers, invest for the future and deliver returns to our shareholders," Chief Executive Paul Thwaite said in a statement.
NatWest also highlighted progress in simplifying its operations, which helped improve its year-to-date cost-to-income ratio.
The bank's core capital buffer, a key measure of financial strength known as the CET1 ratio, rose to 14.2% from 13.6% at the end of the second quarter.
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