NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) told shareholders, in a statement ahead of its Annual General Meeting, that a strong 2025 performance underpins higher shareholder returns, a £1.5bn buyback programme and the acquisition of Evelyn Partners to broaden its financial advice capability.
The bank reported income of £16.4bn, operating profit of £7.7bn, a return on tangible equity of 19.2%, served more than 20m customers and grew mortgage balances by £7bn while assets under management rose 20%.
The Evelyn Partners acquisition, announced earlier this year and set to complete in the months ahead, is presented as a strategic move to deepen long-term financial planning and investment management for customers.
"This is a bank with momentum, a bank with purpose, a bank with the strength to navigate uncertainty and a bank with the ambition and the capability to succeed with our customers in the years to come," said Rick Haythornthwaite.
The Board outlined recent governance changes, welcoming Josh Critchley and Albert Hitchcock as independent non-executive directors, noting Yasmin Jetha’s retirement and mourning the passing of Frank Dangeard.
Management reiterated three strategic priorities-disciplined growth, simplification, and active risk and balance-sheet management-and described artificial intelligence as an accelerant to service and decision-making.
In Scotland the Group highlighted an accelerator partnership with the University of Edinburgh, the opening of an Accelerator Hub on Princes Street, expanded venture banking and IP lending, and a target to support 5,000 Scottish entrepreneurs.
For shareholders NatWest cited total dividends per share of 32.5p, a 51% increase year-on-year, alongside the two £750m buybacks announced in 2025.
The company said it will continue integration work across prior deals, including more than one million Sainsbury's Bank customers and a £2.3bn Metro Bank mortgage portfolio, as it completes the Evelyn Partners transaction in the months ahead.
