NatWest keeps third-quarter profit steady as it cuts 1,000 jobs amid AI rollout

Quarterly results

NatWest Group reported an operating pretax profit of £2.2 billion for the three months to September, with figures published on 30 October. Accounts differ on how that compares with a year earlier. RTE described the result as flat, the Scotsman called it modestly up, and the Evening Standard put it about 2% higher. Net interest income, the gap between what the bank earns on loans and pays out on deposits, reached around £3.6 billion, a rise of nearly 9% on the year. Its wealth business also grew by £1 billion in assets during the quarter after the Evelyn Partners acquisition.

Chief executive Paul Thwaite summed up the quarter in these words.

“We continue to see broad-based growth in our three customer franchises, with lending, deposits and assets under management all increasing during the quarter”

Cost cuts and the AI push

The bank cut about 1,000 full-time staff during the quarter, bringing job losses to 1,400 so far this year, with most of that total coming in the final quarter. The Evelyn Partners acquisition brought around 2,200 staff into the group, so overall headcount still rose. Cost savings of around £420 million lowered the cost-income ratio to 45.7% for the year to date, 2.1 percentage points below the previous year. NatWest credits investment in technology, including AI tools, for the efficiency gains, and it has trialled a spending insights helper and a fraud agent for credit card customers. Thwaite has said roles are changing as technological advances reshape the bank's work.

About 1,000 full-time roles cut, July to September1,000

Roles cut so far in 20261,400

Around 2,200 staff brought in by Evelyn Partners2,200

About 1,000 full-time roles cut, July to September

1000 staff

Roles cut so far in 2026

1400 staff

Around 2,200 staff brought in by Evelyn Partners

2200 staff

Data from the article text

Analysts and rivals

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, part of Aberdeen Group, judged the quarter in pointed terms.

“NatWest has rounded off the banks' quarterly reporting season with a fair to middling performance which was not sufficient for the bank to upgrade guidance for the year.”

Hunter added that the increase to the bank surcharge in the Budget was smaller than feared, calling it manageable and temporary, and that it sparked a small relief rally among domestic banks. Jefferies analyst Jonathan Pierce said the quarter showed British banks "tearing off the band aid" by lowering investor expectations for interest income growth as margin pressure intensifies. NatWest joins Lloyds and Barclays, which also reported higher income while interest rates have stayed high. Like rivals HSBC and Lloyds, NatWest reaffirmed its performance targets for the year rather than upgrading them, according to RTE. RTE described that restraint as a sign of a tougher economic outlook for UK lenders and rising competition for savers' money.