NatWest shattered expectations of posting an operating profit of £ 2.5bn for the first half of the year by increasing payments to shareholders, with the government due to receive £ 190m for its stake in the lender.
The bank said pre-tax operating profit reached over £ 2.5 billion in the six months. This is much better than analysts’ expectations of £ 1.8bn for the first half of the year, and a variation from a loss of £ 707m in the same period last year.
That makes NatWest the latest bank to beat forecasts, following Barclays and Lloyds earlier this week as they dip into their bad debt provisions – money set aside to protect customer balance sheets. failing during the pandemic.
Along with Lloyds and Barclays, NatWest set aside billions of pounds during the early days of Covid-19, in case it was needed during the economic chaos that followed.
But today’s economy looks better than it was then, allowing the three banks to tap into those alleged depreciation charges from last year.
NatWest has decided to release £ 705million from its depreciation pot, most of which – £ 605million – came in the second quarter of the year. It also increased its dividend to 3p per share, offering £ 347million to shareholders, whose government will demand £ 190million even as it cuts the taxpayer’s stake in the bank dating from the 2008 financial crisis. .
Chief Executive Officer Alison Rose said: “These results were driven by strong operational performance across the group, supported by a strong loan portfolio and a strong capital position.
“Defaults remain low and, given the improved outlook, we released an additional £ 0.6bn of impairment provisions during the quarter.
“As we see the potential for a faster recovery, we will continue to take an appropriate and conservative approach as government programs end and the economy reopens.”
NatWest will also buy back shares worth up to £ 750million from its investors in the second half of the year.
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-30 07:26:43