Chief Executive, Alison Rose, commented:
“The world has changed considerably during the last three months. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the invasion of Ukraine and we are doing all that we can to support them. We are also very aware of the challenges and concerns the cost-of-living crisis is causing for many of our customers up and down the country. NatWest Group is focused on providing practical help and support for the people, families and businesses we serve.
Despite the challenging environment, I am pleased with our performance as we continue to execute well against our strategy, driving sustainable growth and returns. Income and profits are substantially up, costs are down and we remain well capitalised as we build long-term value and deliver a simpler and better banking experience for our customers.
Government ownership also reduced to around 48% in Q1; the first time it has fallen below 50% since the financial crisis. This was an important milestone for our bank and a further demonstration of the progress we are making as we continue to deliver for our customers and shareholders.”
Strong Q1 2022 operating performance
-Q1 2022 attributable profit of £841 million and a return on tangible equity of 11.3%.
-Go-forward group(1) income excluding notable items increased by £219 million, or 8.6%, compared with Q1 2021 principally reflecting volume growth and favourable yield curve movements.
-Bank net interest margin (NIM) of 2.46% was 15 basis points higher than Q4 2021 principally reflecting the impact of recent base rate rises.
-Other operating expenses in the Go-forward group were £78 million, or 4.6%, lower than Q1 2021.
-A total net impairment release of £38 million, £7 million in the Go-forward group, reflected the low levels of realised losses we continue to see across our portfolio, although the economic outlook remains uncertain.
Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels
-Net lending for the Go-forward group increased by £6.7 billion to £359.0 billion in comparison to Q4 2021 principally reflecting Retail Banking mortgage growth of £2.6 billion and a £2.4 billion increase across Commercial & Institutional.
-Customer deposits for the Go-forward group increased by £4.2 billion in the quarter to £465.6 billon driven by treasury repo activity and continued growth across the segments.
-RWAs increased by £0.5 billion to £176.8 billion compared with 1 January 2022.
-CET1 ratio of 15.2% was 70 basis points lower than 1 January 2022, principally reflecting the impact of the directed buyback.
-The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 167%, representing £83.3 billion above 100%, decreased by 5 percentage points compared with Q4 2021.
(1) Go-forward group excludes Ulster Bank RoI and discontinued operations.
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Q1 2022 Media call transcript [PDF 182KB]
