NatWest Shares Fall After Bank’s Interest Income Guidance Disappoints

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

NatWest shares declined 8.3% on Friday as the bank projected softer earnings from interest in the coming year, despite posting a 1.9% year-over-year increase in third-quarter operating pretax profit to 2.23 billion pounds. The stock fell to 582.60 pence, its lowest level since May, driven by concerns over the future revenue outlook. Chief Financial Officer Katie Murray indicated that the spread between loan rates and deposit costs would likely stabilize in 2027, a view that Jefferies analysts suggested could lower expected interest earnings by up to 500 million pounds. Total quarterly revenue reached 4.64 billion pounds, matching analyst forecasts, while operating costs rose 7.1% to 2.14 billion pounds.

Background

• The bank reaffirmed its annual targets, anticipating roughly 17.9 billion pounds in total revenue excluding special items and a return on tangible equity exceeding 19%.
• Third-quarter interest-based revenue increased 8.9% to 3.56 billion pounds, with the margin widening to 2.50% from 2.37%.
• Customer assets and liabilities expanded by 1.6% to surpass 1 trillion pounds, reflecting growth across lending, deposits, and managed assets.
• Workforce numbers decreased by 1,000 in the quarter but increased by approximately 800 year-to-date, including 2,200 employees from the Evelyn Partners acquisition.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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