Source - LSE Regulatory
RNS Number : 0786C
NatWest Group plc
18 February 2022
 

 

    Annual Results

      For the year ended 31 December 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

natwestgroup.com

 

 

 

NatWest Group plc

2021 NatWest Group performance summary

Alison Rose, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

 

 

NatWest Group delivered a strong performance in 2021 as we returned to profitability, made progress against our strategy and distributed more than £3.8 billion of capital to our shareholders, including £1.7 billion to the taxpayer.

 

We are acutely aware of the challenges that many people, families and businesses continue to face up and down the country and are working alongside our customers to provide the support they need - whether that is managing their money better, saving for a house or retirement or starting or growing a new business - as well as playing a leading role in the transition to net zero.

 

As our economy recovers and the trend towards digital services accelerates, we are investing to deliver long term value in the bank and drive sustainable growth.  We will do this by building closer and deeper relationships with our customers and by supporting their evolving needs and expectations at every stage of their lives.

 

 

Resilient financial performance in a challenging environment

-    Full year attributable profit of £2,950 million and a return on tangible equity of 9.4%.

 

-    Income across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding notable items, increased by 1.4% compared with 2020 principally reflecting balance sheet growth although this was offset by a 61.5% reduction in NatWest Markets income.

 

-    Q4 2021 Bank NIM(1) of 2.38% was 3 basis points higher than Q3 2021 reflecting higher yield curve and higher unsecured balances partly offset by lower mortgage margins.

 

-    Other expenses, excluding operating lease depreciation and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs, were £256 million, or 4.0% lower than 2020, in line with our target for the year.

 

-    A net impairment release of £1,278 million, or 35 basis points of gross customer loans, principally reflects releases in non-default portfolios and the low levels of realised losses we have seen across the year.

 

-    A final dividend of 7.5p is proposed and we intend to commence an ordinary share buy-back programme of up to £750 million in the first half of the year, taking total distributions deducted from capital in the year to £3.8 billion.

 

 

Robust balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity levels

-    The CET1 ratio remains strong at 18.2%, reducing by 50 basis points in the quarter due to our proposed on market buybacks and dividends. On 1 January 2022, the proforma CET1 ratio was 15.9% following regulatory changes.

 

-    The liquidity coverage ratio of 172% increased by 6 percentage points in the quarter.

 

-    Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, net lending excluding UK Government support schemes increased by £7.8 billion, or 2.6%, including £10.8 billion of mortgage growth, and increased by £0.8 billion in Q4 2021.

 

-    Customer deposits increased by £48.1 billion during 2021 to £479.8 billion.

 

 

(1)      Excludes NatWest Markets, Liquid Asset Buffer and Ulster Bank RoI.

 

 

 

 

Our purpose in action

We champion potential, helping people, families, and businesses to thrive. By working to benefit our customers, colleagues, and communities, we will deliver long-term value and drive sustainable returns to our shareholders. Some key achievements in 2021 include:

 

People and families

-    Over one million customers have now grown their savings with us by £100 or more for the first time, including 471,000 in 2021.

 

-    60% of our active current account customers exclusively bank with us using digital channels (1).

 

-    In Retail Banking, we have completed £728 million of Green Mortgages since their launch in Q4 2020, rewarding customers for choosing an energy efficient home.

 

-    As part of our strategy to help families and young people manage their money more effectively, we acquired the fintech business RoosterMoney, whose pocket money app aims to build money confidence and financial capability from an early age.

 

-    Our dedicated customer care line, which was set up as a result of the pandemic, has helped and supported 527,123 people in 2021.

 

-    Net lending grew by £7.8 billion(1) in 2021, primarily driven by growth in mortgages.

Businesses

-    Announced a target to provide an additional £100 billion Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing to customers between the 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025, alongside plans to launch a new green loan product for small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers(3).

 

-    We committed £6 billion to help SMEs grow, of which £4 billion has already been allocated, and we doubled our funding of female entrepreneurship to £2 billion.

 

-    We are the first major bank to join forces with a renewable energy supplier and, through our collaboration with Octopus, we offer our retail, business and wealth customers a tailored package that improves the cost and efficiency of owning and running an electric vehicle.

 

Colleagues

-    In 2021, we were listed as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women' for the eleventh consecutive year and named by LinkedIn as one of the top 25 workplaces in the UK to grow a career.

 

-    For the fifth year, we've retained our place in Bloomberg's 'Global Gender Equality Index'.

 

-    We have been listed in the 'Working Families Benchmark Top 10 Employers', showing that we are among those leading the way in building a flexible, family-friendly workplace.

 

-    In 2021, we provided all colleagues with access to build future skills through the NatWest Group Learning Academy. This supports our commitment for all colleagues to be upskilled in future-focused skills by 2025.

 

Communities

-    Recognised by Good Business Pays for our commitment to paying our invoices promptly to suppliers.

 

-    In July 2021, Coutts became a certified B Corp, evidencing our commitment to balance people, profit and the planet.

 

-    Following a successful launch in Q1 2021, in Q4 2021 we extended our employability programme, CareerSense, to support 13-24-year-olds not in employment, education, or training with readiness for work.

 

-    Through our seven regional boards, we are uniquely positioned to champion the potential of our regions and communities throughout the UK, helping people, families, and businesses to thrive.

 

-    During the year we collaborated with the Centre for Social Justice to explore what government, business and the third sector can do to strengthen local communities as the UK recovers from the pandemic.

 

(1)      Retail Banking current account customers only as at 31 December 2021 - 87% of our retail customer needs are now met digitally, with 60% of our customers banking exclusively digitally. Only activity in the last quarter is considered.

(2)      Net lending to customers across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, excluding UK Government lending schemes.

(3)      In October 2021, having surpassed our previous 2020-21 £20 billion target during H1 2021, NatWest Group announced an ambition to provide £100 billion Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.

 

 

 

Chief Executive's Statement

 

We champion potential, helping people, families, and businesses to thrive.  

 

Our future and our growth are built on this one, clear purpose. It's what drives us, defines us, and guides us. Because getting this right means success - for ourselves and for everyone we serve.

 

NatWest Group's execution is centred around our purpose, driving sustainable growth through our strategic priorities. We are a relationship bank for a digital world, building ever deeper and closer connections with our customers throughout their financial lives, enablingpeople, families and businesses to thrive.

 

As I look back on 2021, I'm filled with admiration for the resilience and adaptability that our colleagues and customers have demonstrated during the pandemic. Faced with unprecedented and constantly evolving challenges to the UK's public health and economy, the collective response has been nothing short of extraordinary.

 

As it has been throughout the pandemic, the health and well-being of our colleagues and customers continues to be our highest priority. In particular, for the key workers who have remained in our offices and branches to provide the level of service and support our customers have needed to rebuild and thrive.

 

NatWest Group is the UK's leading business bank. It is also a truly regional bank, serving 19 million customers throughout the UK. We are proud of the role we play and the relationships we already have across every part of the country. And we are well positioned to deepen these relationships and to help our customers, our economy and our bank to grow because of the actions we have taken in recent years.

 

Thrive together

 

In spite of the difficult economic environment and the pressure this continues to place on people, families and businesses up and down the country, the UK remains an attractive and entrepreneurial market, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) driving around half of UK turnover and employing 60% of the private sector workforce. Itis also an increasingly competitive market, where banks have to maintain their relevance to earn their growth.

 

As the economy starts to recover and grow, customers' expectations of banks are changing faster than ever. So too is the way people live and work. Customers want a simple, engaging experience, designed to anticipate particular needs and reflect their priorities, just as they have in other areas of their lives.

 

When I first took up my role as Chief Executive, we committed to a purpose that guides all of our decision-making - we champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive. We also set out clear areas of strategic focus to deliver on this purpose in order to drive sustainable returns for our shareholders and build sustainable value in our bank. We are executing well against these areas of focus, delivering growth in key areas while controlling costs, better allocating our capital and accelerating our digital transformation.

 

As a relationship bank for a digital world, our focus now is on the opportunities we see for future growth. It is a simple principle: if our customers and economy thrive, so will we.

 

Sustainable growth will come from ever closer and deeper relationships with our customers at every stage of their lives. Relationships that are based on insight and shared goals, delivering a simpler customer experience that removes complexity and frustration. Relationships that reflect customers' values and aspirations for themselves and society. Relationships that start earlier in our customers' lives and which adapt to meet their evolving needs. All of which will be enabled by the strategic partnerships and acquisitions we have made, and by our efforts to simplify how customers interact with our bank so they can enjoy an easier, frictionless banking experience. It will also be driven by a better allocation of our capital - with £3 billion being invested in the business across a three-year period from 2021 to 2023, in addition to the sustainable returns we are delivering to shareholders.

 

Delivering on our strategy

 

Of course, we are building from strong foundations. Our operating profit for 2021 of £4.0 billion (£4.3 billion including operating profit from discounted operations(1)) increased from a loss of £481 (£351 million including operating profit from discounted operations(1)) million the year before. This included impairment releases of £1.3 billion, which reflected the low levels of realised losses we have seen across the year.

 

We also continued to make progress against our other financial targets. The bank's net lending - excluding government schemes - grew by £7.8 billion in 2021, primarily driven by growth in mortgages. We removed a further £256 million of costs from the business and retain a capital ratio well above our target range.

At the same time, our digital transformation accelerated as our customers chose to interact with us in different ways. Around 60% of our retail current account holders now only interact with us digitally (2) and we have seen further strong growth in mobile payments and video banking. This digitalisation of customer journeys is crucial to our future growth, and our Net Promoter Scores are improving in key segments as a result. For example, our much-improved online process for renewing mortgages now takes as little as 10 minutes.

(1)      Refer to the Non-IFRS financial measures section for details of the basis of preparation and reconciliation of Non-IFRS financial and performance measures.

(2)      Retail Banking current account customers only as at 31 December 2021 - 87% of our retail customer needs are now met digitally, with 60% of our customers banking exclusively digitally. Only activity in the last quarter is considered.

 

 

Chief Executive's Statement continued

 

We are also using our digital capabilities to keep our customers safe and to build their financial capabilities, with credit scoring now available in our app, dedicated support lines available for customers in vulnerable situations and more than 1 million customers growing their savings with us by £100 or more for the firsttime.

As the UK's leading business bank and a committed champion of start-ups, we are removing barriers to enterprise, tackling inequality and supporting growth by helping entrepreneurs achieve their ambitions. We offer the UK's largest fully funded business accelerator network, with accelerator hubs across the country providing support for high-growth businesses, especially those led by under-represented groups. During the pandemic, we pivoted this support for entrepreneurs to be delivered digitally, as we did with our 'Dream Bigger' programme which helps 16-18-year-old girls develop transferable entrepreneurial skills. We also helped create the SME Transformation Taskforce to unlock the growth opportunity for the UK economy, identified in our 'Springboard to Sustainable Recovery' report.

Turning to our own business, the capital restructuring of NatWest Markets has made substantial progress. It is simpler, less capital intensive and better able to create opportunities for our commercial customers by meeting their financing and risk management needs, and by providing access to global markets as well as leadership in high-growth areas, such as the green and sustainable bond markets. As a result, we are creating a new franchise called Commercial and Institutional by bringing together our Commercial Banking, NatWest Markets and RBS International businesses. The creation of this new franchise is a further step in removing complexity and becoming a simpler bank for customers to deal with.

We continue to make good progress on our phased withdrawal from the Irish market, minimising job losses and protecting services while supporting our customers and colleagues to allow a smooth transition. During the year, we signed two agreements with Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. (AIB) and Permanent TSB p.l.c. (PTSB) which account for about 60% of the Ulster Bank loan book in the Republic of Ireland, including the transfer of colleagues, wholly or mainly supporting the relevant portfolios and 25 branch locations.

These structural changes, along with our strong capital position and continued capital generation, mean that we are well placed to invest for growth, to provide the support our customers need as the economy recovers and to drive sustainable returns to shareholders, with £3.8 billion shareholder distributions announced for 2021 through dividends and buybacks.

The bank's financial performance in 2021 also included a fine following breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. NatWest Group takes its responsibility to prevent and detect financial crime extremely seriously. We deeply regret that we failed to adequately monitor one of our customers between 2012 and 2016 to prevent money laundering. And while the case has now come to an end, we continue to invest significant resources in the ongoing fight against financial crime andfraud.

We are delivering our strategy through four strategic priorities, with the aim of driving long-term sustainable value and delivering on our 2023 targets, which we are now updating. As the economy recovers, we feel more confident about income and so we are providing guidance for the first time. In 2022, we expect to deliver income excluding notable items of above £11.0 billion in the Go-forward group(1,2). We are amending our cost reduction target to around 3% per annum for 2022 and 2023(2,3), reflecting higher inflation and our ongoing investment in the business. Nevertheless, we maintain a strong focus on continued cost discipline. We retain our 2023 CET1 ratio of 13-14%, and we have upgraded our return on tangible equity target in 2023 to comfortably above 10% for the Group.

Tackling climate change

One key area where our bank has a critical role to play is in helping to tackle climate change. It is the biggest challenge we face as a society, requiring collaboration and co-operation on a global scale, and NatWest Group was proud to sponsor the COP26 global climate conference which took place in Glasgow in October/November 2021.

Our industry has a responsibility to drive and influence positive change. As such, NatWest Group is committed to getting its own house in order, bringing to an end the most harmful activity and providing the support, advice and products our customers need in order to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy.

We are one of the few banks to offer a Green Mortgage product, with £728 million of lending to retail customers since its launch in Q4 2020, and we established the Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition with British Gas, Worcester Bosch and Shelter to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK. Working with the fintech company CoGo, we were also the first bank to introduce a carbon-tracking feature in our mobile banking app. And we are helping colleagues and customers to move to electric vehicles through a collaboration with Octopus Energy.

 

 

(1)

Income excluding notable items.

(2)

Go-forward group excludes Ulster Bank RoI.

(3)

Go-forward group other operating expenses defined as total expenses less litigation and conduct costs.

 

 

 

 

Chief Executive's Statement continued

 

Our Springboard to Sustainable Recovery report found that the transition to net zero can create a huge opportunity for SMEs. Close to 40% of our accelerator hubs are dedicated to supporting sustainable businesses to help our most innovative start-ups to take advantage of this opportunity. There is a clear societal responsibility here, but also an obvious commercial imperative in helping our customers to thrive as we transition to net zero.

Building a culture to champion potential

 

In seeking to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, we are also building an open, inclusive and progressive place to work, breaking down barriers for our customers and for our colleagues.

 

We are a learning organisation and our culture is critical to our future success. We have worked with our colleagues as well as with our customers, suppliers and communities to create a new set of values that reflect the organisation we are today. Values that match the ambition, optimism and energy our purpose has given us, and that we can all believe in.

 

This builds on the progress we have made in recent years as we consider the needs of all our colleagues and stakeholders. In 2021, we launched our global Talent Academy to help identify and develop colleague potential, with almost 4,000 accepted onto the programme. We also offered mental health workshops for our line managers and our 1,300 Wellbeing Champions, as well as seeing strong take up of our virtual GP and physiotherapy offers.

 

Outside the bank, we launched our CareerSense programme, providing more than 8,200 young people with free access to tools that will develop critical skills and support their employability prospects. We were also recognised by the Good Business Pays campaign for our commitment to paying our suppliers the day after receiving an invoice, in line with the Supplier Charter which we introduced in 2020.

 

In our top three layers globally, 38% of roles are currently filled by female colleagues, a 9% increase since we first introduced our target to have a full gender balance in these roles by 2030, but a 1% decrease from 31 December 2020. We know we have more to do and we continue to focus on the recruitment, retention and advancement of women to meet our 2030 target.

 

In 2020, we launched the Racial Equality Taskforce to listen, learn and better understand the barriers faced by colleagues, customers and communities from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Of those who disclose their ethnicity, we have an aggregate of 11% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues in our top four layers in the UK; a 3% increase since our 14% target was first introduced in2018.

 

Living up to our purpose

 

Over the coming years, we will create a closer and deeper relationship with the people, families and businesses that we serve throughout the UK. From teenagers to retirees, from newlyweds to new homeowners and from start-ups to the largest multinationals, we will understand them better, provide more value to them and help them to thrive.

 

By playing such a central role throughout the lives of our customers, by taking action on the issues they care about and by retaining their business as their needs and aspirations change, our bank will go from strength to strength.

 

More than that, it will make a meaningful contribution to our society, helping to grow and transition our economy as we move towards net zero, sustainably growing our business by living up to our purpose.

 

 

Alison Rose

Group Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

Outlook(1)

The economic outlook remains uncertain. We will monitor and react to market conditions and refine our internal forecasts as the economic position evolves. The following statements are based on current market interest rate and economic expectations.

 

-    In 2023, we expect to achieve a return on tangible equity of comfortably above 10% for the Group.

-    In 2022, we expect income excluding notable items to be above £11.0bn in the Go-forward group.

-    We plan to invest around £3 billion over 2021 to 2023 but, with continuing simplification, we plan to reduce Go-forward group operating expenses, excluding litigation and conduct costs, by around 3% in both 2022 and 2023.

-    As a result of positive actions to change the shape of our book in recent years, we expect our through-the-cycle impairment loss rate to be around 20 - 30 basis points. We expect our 2022 and 2023 impairment charge to be lower than our through the cycle loss rate.

-    Across 2022 and 2023, we expect movements in RWAs to largely reflect lending growth and our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland.

 

Capital and funding

-    We aim to end 2022 with a CET1 ratio of around 14% and target a ratio of 13-14% by 2023.

-    We intend to maintain ordinary dividends of around 40% of attributable profit and to distribute a minimum of £1 billion in each of 2022 and 2023 via a combination of ordinary and special dividends.

-    We intend to maintain capacity to participate in directed buybacks of the UK Government stake, recognising that any exercise of this authority would be dependent upon HMT's intentions and is limited to 4.99% of issued share capital in any 12-month period.

-    We will consider further on-market buybacks, in addition to the £750 million announced today, as part of our overall capital distribution approach as well as inorganic opportunities provided they are consistent with our strategy and have a strong shareholder value case.

-    As part of the NatWest Group capital and funding plans we intend to issue between £3 billion to £5 billion of MREL-compliant instruments in 2022, with a continued focus on issuance under our Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework. NatWest Markets plc's funding plan targets £4 billion to £5 billion of public benchmark issuance.

 

Ulster Bank ROI

-    We have made good progress on our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland and expect the majority of the Allied Irish Banks and Permanent TSB asset sales to be largely complete by the end of 2022 and deposits to reduce over a longer timescale.

-    We would expect income and RWAs to follow the balance sheet trajectory. We expect the cost base to reduce over time and anticipate other operating expenses, excluding withdrawal related costs, in 2023 will be around €200 million lower than 2021.

-    We expect to incur disposal losses through income of around €300 million in 2022 and withdrawal related costs of around €600 million across 2022-24, with around €500 million incurred by the end of 2023.

-    We expect the phased withdrawal to be capital accretive.

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

The guidance, targets, expectations and trends discussed in this section represent NatWest Group plc management's current expectations and are subject to change, including as a result of the factors described in the Risk Factors section on pages 406 to 426 of the 2021 NatWest Group plc Annual Report and Accounts and on pages 179 to 200 of the NatWest Markets Plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts These statements constitute forward-looking statements. Refer to Forward-looking statements in this document.

 

Business performance summary

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020 (1)

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (1)

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go-forward group income (2)

10,284

10,286

 

2,579

2,629

2,404

Total income

10,512

10,508

 

2,622

2,708

2,462

Operating expenses

(7,758)

(7,858)

 

(2,328)

(1,931)

(2,329)

Profit before impairment releases/(losses)

2,754

2,650

 

294

777

133

Operating profit/(loss) before tax

4,032

(481)

 

635

1,010

(6)

Profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders

2,950

(753)

 

434

674

(109)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excluding notable items within total income (3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go-forward group income excluding notable items (2)

10,074

10,670

 

2,517

2,511

2,485

Total income excluding notable items (2)

10,267

10,892

 

2,560

2,555

2,543

Operating expenses

(7,758)

(7,858)

 

(2,328)

(1,931)

(2,329)

Profit before impairment releases/(losses) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 excluding notable items 

2,509

3,034

 

232

624

214

Operating profit/(loss) before tax excluding notable items

3,787

(97)

 

573

857

75

UK and RBSI retail and commercial income excluding 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 notable items (2)

9,620

9,486

 

2,510

2,423

2,319

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance key metrics and ratios

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bank net interest margin (2,4)

2.39%

2.46%

 

2.38%

2.35%

2.44%

Bank average interest earning assets (2,4)

£314bn

£301bn

 

£318bn

£315bn

£306bn

Cost:income ratio (2)

73.4%

74.4%

 

88.6%

70.9%

94.5%

Loan impairment rate (2)

(35bps)

85bps

 

(38bps)

(26bps)

15bps

Total earnings per share attributable to ordinary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 shareholders - basic

25.4p

(6.2p)

 

3.8p

5.8p

(0.9p)

Go-forward return on tangible equity

10.0%

(1.3%)

 

5.6%

8.6%

nm

Return on tangible equity (2)

9.4%

(2.4%)

 

5.6%

8.6%

(1.4%)

 

 

Go-forward group excludes Ulster Bank RoI and discontinued operations.

 

For the notes to this table, refer to the following page.

 

 

Business performance summary continued

 

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (1)

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Balance sheet

 

 

 

Total assets

782.0

778.3

799.5

Funded assets (2)

675.9

674.5

633.0

Loans to customers - amortised cost

359.0

361.0

360.5

Loans to customers and banks - amortised cost and FVOCI

369.8

374.0

372.4

Go-forward group net lending 

352.3

347.8

342.5

UK and RBSI retail and commercial net lending excluding UK Government   

 

 

 

 support schemes (2)

305.7

304.9

297.9

Impairment provisions - amortised cost

3.8

4.3

6.0

Total impairment provisions 

3.8

4.4

6.2

Expected credit loss (ECL) coverage ratio 

1.0%

1.2%

1.7%

Assets under management and administration (AUMA) (2)

35.6

35.7

32.1

Go-forward group customer deposits (2)

461.4

457.8

412.1

Customer deposits 

479.8

476.3

431.7

UK and RBSI retail and commercial customer deposits (2) 

443.4

437.2

403.2

 

 

 

 

Liquidity and funding

 

 

 

Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR)

172%

166%

165%

Liquidity portfolio

286

278

262

Net stable funding ratio (NSFR) (5)

157%

155%

151%

Loan:deposit ratio (2)

75%

76%

84%

Total wholesale funding

77

67

71

Short-term wholesale funding

23

22

19

 

 

 

 

Capital and leverage

 

 

 

Common Equity Tier (CET1) ratio (6)

18.2%

18.7%

18.5%

Total capital ratio

24.1%

24.6%

24.5%

Pro forma CET1 ratio, pre dividend accrual (7)

19.5%

19.5%

18.8%

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs)

157.0

159.8

170.3

UK leverage ratio (8)

5.8%

5.9%

6.4%

Tangible net asset value (TNAV) per ordinary share

272p

269p

261p

Number of ordinary shares in issues (millions) (9)

11,272 

11,436

12,129

 

 

(1)

Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

(2)

Refer to Non-IFRS financial measures appendix for details of basis of preparation and reconciliation of non-IFRS financial measures and performance metrics.

(3)

Refer to page 11 for details of notable items within total income.

(4)

NatWest Group excluding NWM, Ulster Bank RoI and liquid asset buffer.

(5)

NSFR reported in line with CRR2 regulations finalised in June 2019.

(6)

Based on CRR end-point including the IFRS 9 transitional adjustment of £0.6 billion (30 September 2021 - £1.0 billion; 31 December 2020 - £1.7 billion). Excluding this adjustment, the CET1 ratio would be 17.8% (30 September 2021 - 18.1%; 31 December 2020 - 17.5%).

(7)

The pro forma CET1 ratio at 31 December 2021 excludes foreseeable items of £2.0 billion, £846 million for ordinary dividends and £1,190 million foreseeable charges and pension contributions (30 September 2021 excludes foreseeable items of £1.2 billion, £402 million for ordinary dividends and £816 million foreseeable charges and pension contributions; 31 December 2020 excludes foreseeable charges of £364 million for ordinary dividend (3p per share) and £266 million pension contribution).

(8)

Based on UK end-point including the IFRS 9 transitional adjustment of £0.6 billion (30 September 2021 - £1.0 billion; 31 December 2020 - £1.7 billion). Excluding this adjustment the UK leverage ratio would be 5.7% (30 September 2021 - 5.8%; 31 December 2020 - 6.1%).

(9)

In March 2021, there was an agreement with HM Treasury to buy 591 million ordinary shares in the Company from UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI). NatWest Group cancelled 391 million of the purchased ordinary shares and transferred the remaining 200 million to own shares held. The number of ordinary shares in issue excludes own shares held which comprises the remainder of the shares purchased and shares held by the NatWest Group 2001 Employee Share Trust. In line with the announcement in July 2021, NatWest Group plc repurchased and cancelled 310.8 million shares for total consideration of £676.2 million excluding fees. Of the 310.8 million shares bought back, 2.8 million shares were settled and cancelled in January 2022. The nominal value of the share cancellations has been transferred to the capital redemption reserve with the share premium element to retained earnings.

 

 

 

 

Business performance summary continued

Chief Financial Officer review

We have delivered a strong operating performance in 2021. Group RoTE was 9.4%, benefiting from a £1.3 billion net impairment release. We achieved our Group cost reduction target of 4.0% and lending growth across our UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses was 2.6%, excluding UK Government financial support schemes. Our capital and liquidity position remains strong after returning £3.8 billion to shareholders, and default levels have remained low across all our portfolios. The CET1 ratio was 18.2%, reducing to 15.9% on 1 January 2022 following regulatory RWA and capital changes. We have made good progress on our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland and will focus the financial commentary below on the Group excluding Ulster Bank RoI (Go-forward group).

 

Financial performance

Total income, excluding notable items, in the Go-forward group was 5.6% lower than prior year. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses income increased by 1.4% reflecting strong balance sheet growth, principally in our mortgage book. NWM income was below expectations, down by 61.5%, compared with 2020, reflecting continued weakness in Fixed Income, impacted by subdued levels of customer activity and ongoing reshaping of the business, and exceptional levels of market activity in the prior year. Income in the Go-forward group was broadly in line with Q3 2021.

 

Bank NIM(1) of 2.39% was 7 basis points lower than 2020 impacted by reduced structural hedge income, yield curve movements and lower unsecured balances. Q4 2021 Bank NIM(1) of 2.38% was 3 basis points higher than Q3 2021 reflecting higher yield curve, higher unsecured balances partly offset by lower mortgage margins.

 

We delivered a cost reduction of £256 million, or 4.0%, in 2021, in line with our target for the year. This has been achieved by transformation across our customer journeys and NWM business, in line with the strategic announcement made in February 2020 and a £68 million reduction in the bank levy charge. Strategic costs of £787 million included £237 million in NWM related to transformation, £124 million of redundancy charges, £88 million of technology spend, and an £85 million goodwill impairment.

 

A net impairment release of £1,278 million reflects the low levels of realised losses we have seen across the year. Total

impairment provisions reduced by £2.4 billion to £3.8 billion during 2021 and as a result ECL coverage ratio decreased from

1.66% to 1.03%. Whilst we are comfortable with the strong credit performance of our book, we continue to hold economic

uncertainty post model adjustments (PMAs) of £0.6 billion, or 15.3% of total impairment provisions. We will continue to assess

this position throughout the year.

 

We are pleased to report a 2021 attributable profit of £2,950 million, with earnings per share of 25.4 pence and a RoTE of 9.4%. A final dividend of 7.5 pence per share is proposed, bringing our total 2021 paid and proposed capital distributions to £3.8 billion through a combination of ordinary dividends, directed buybacks of the UK Government stake and our on-market buyback programme.

 

Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses, and excluding UK Government support schemes, net lending increased by 2.6%. Mortgage growth exceeded the market, however commercial lending was behind market as we have sought to reduce certain exposures, through targeted sector reductions and capital actions, whilst continuing to focus on supporting customers through sustainable lending. During the second half of the year we completed £8.1 billion Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing against our £100 billion target. 

 

Customer deposits in the Go-forward group increased by £49.3 billion, or 12.0%, in 2021 including £9.4 billion related to Treasury repo activity. Across the UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses customer deposits increased by 10.0%, as customers continued to build and retain liquidity.

 

TNAV per share increased by 3 pence in the quarter to 272 pence largely reflecting the attributable profit partially offset by movements in the cash flow hedging reserve.

 

Capital  

The CET1 ratio remains strong at 18.2%, or 17.8% excluding IFRS 9 transitional relief. The 30 basis points reduction in the year includes capital distributions of c.240 basis points, partially offset by the reduction in RWAs, c.170 basis points, and the attributable profit net of IFRS 9 transitional relief and other capital movements. RWAs of £157.0 billion reduced by £13.3 billion in 2021 mainly reflecting business movements in Commercial Banking, including targeted sector reductions, improvement in risk parameters and active capital management.

 

On 1 January 2022, the proforma CET1 ratio was 15.9% including the impact of regulatory RWA inflation, 200 basis points, the removal of the software development costs capital benefit, 20 basis points, and the tapering of IFRS 9 transitional relief, 10 basis points. RWAs increased by £18.8 billion, including £14.8 billion associated with mortgage risk weight changes.

 

Funding and liquidity

The LCR increased by 6 percentage points to 172% in the quarter, representing £89.9 billion headroom above 100% minimum requirement, following a Term Funding Scheme with additional incentives for SMEs (TFSME) drawdown. Total wholesale funding increased by £10.0 billion in the quarter to £76.7 billion.

 

(3)      Excludes Natwest Markets, Liquid Asset Buffer and Ulster Bank RoI.

 

 

 

Business performance summary continued

Summary consolidated income statement for the period ended 31 December 2021

 

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020 (1)

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (2)

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Net interest income

7,614

7,476

 

1,942

1,889

1,901

Own credit adjustments

6

(24)

 

4

2

(43)

Other non-interest income

2,892

3,056

 

676

817

604

Non-interest income

2,898

3,032

 

680

819

561

Total income

10,512

10,508

 

2,622

2,708

2,462

Litigation and conduct costs

(466)

(113)

 

(190)

(294)

(194)

Strategic costs

(787)

(1,013)

 

(378)

(77)

(326)

Other expenses

(6,505)

(6,732)

 

(1,760)

(1,560)

(1,809)

Operating expenses

(7,758)

(7,858)

 

(2,328)

(1,931)

(2,329)

Profit before impairment losses

2,754

2,650

 

294

777

133

Impairment releases/(losses)

1,278

(3,131)

 

341

233

(139)

Operating profit/(loss) before tax

4,032

(481)

 

635

1,010

(6)

Tax charge

(996)

(74)

 

(234)

(330)

(75)

Profit/(loss) from continuing operations

3,036

(555)

 

401

680

(81)

Profit from discontinued operations, net of tax

276

121

 

97

64

61

Profit/(loss) for the period

3,312

(434)

 

498

744

(20)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary shareholders

2,950

(753)

 

434

674

(109)

Preference shareholders

19

26

 

5

5

5

Paid-in equity holders

299

355

 

58

63

83

Non-controlling interests

44

(62)

 

1

2

1

 

Notable items within total income (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail Banking

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Retail Banking debt sale gain

-

8

 

-

-

1

   Metro Bank mortgage portfolio acquisition loss

-

(58)

 

-

-

(58)

Private Banking

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Consideration on the sale of Adam & Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

      investment management business

54

-

 

54

-

-

Commercial Banking

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Commercial Banking fair value and disposal

 

 

 

 

 

 

      gain/(loss)

(22)

(37)

 

(4)

4

(27)

   Commercial Banking tax variable lease repricing

32

-

 

-

-

-

NatWest Markets

 

 

 

 

 

 

   NatWest Markets asset disposals/strategic 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      risk reduction (3)

(64)

(83)

 

(12)

(12)

(8)

   Own credit adjustments (OCA)

6

(24)

 

3

2

(43)

Central items & other

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Loss on redemption of own debt

(138)

(324)

 

-

-

-

   Liquidity Asset Bond sale gains

120

113

 

50

45

2

   Share of associate profit/(loss) for Business

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Growth Fund

219

(22)

 

11

79

8

   Property strategy update

(44)

 

 

(44)

-

 

   FX recycling gain/(loss) in Central items & other 

-

(40)

 

-

-

(1)

   IFRS volatility in Central items & other (4)

47

83

 

3

-

45

   Own credit adjustments (OCA)

-

-

 

1

-

-

Ulster Bank RoI

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Ulster Bank RoI gain arising from the restructuring of 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      structural hedges

35

-

 

-

35

-

Total

245

(384)

 

62

153

(81)

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

(2)      Refer to page 1 of the Non-IFRS financial measures Appendix.

(3)      Asset disposals/strategic risk reduction relates to the cost of exiting positions, which includes changes in carrying value to align to the expected exit valuation, and the impact of risk reduction transactions entered into, in respect of the strategic announcement on 14 February 2020.

(4)      IFRS volatility relates to derivatives used for risk management not in IFRS hedge accounting relationships and IFRS hedge ineffectiveness.

Business performance summary

Retail Banking

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Total income

4,445

4,181

 

1,164

1,131

974

Operating expenses

(2,513)

(2,540)

 

(774)

(552)

(818)

  of which: Other expenses

(2,250)

(2,295)

 

(605)

(543)

(566)

Impairment releases/(losses)

36

(792)

 

(5)

(16)

(65)

Operating profit

1,968

849

 

385

563

91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on equity

26.1%

10.2%

 

19.7%

29.9%

3.8%

Net interest margin

2.08%

2.13%

 

2.08%

2.09%

2.03%

Cost:income ratio

56.5%

60.8%

 

66.5%

48.8%

84.0%

Loan impairment rate

(2)bps

45bps

 

1bps

4bps

15bps

 

 

 

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

182.2

180.5

172.3

Customer deposits

 

 

 

188.9

186.3

171.8

RWAs

 

 

 

36.7

36.6

36.7

 

In 2021, Retail Banking continued to grow net lending with an measured approach to risk, delivering a return on equity of 26.1% and operating profit of £1,968 million. Lending growth was supported by a strong performance in mortgages and a return to unsecured lending growth in the second half of 2021. Retail Banking completed £1.1 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing in 2021, which will contribute towards the new NatWest Group target of £100 billion between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.

2021 performance

-

Total income was £264 million, or 6.3%, higher than 2020 reflecting mortgage balance and margin improvement, higher transactional-related fee income and non-repeat of loss on acquisition, partially offset by the impact of the lower interest rate environment on deposit returns, lower average unsecured balances and the annualised impact of regulatory changes on fee income.

-

Net interest margin was 5 basis points lower than 2020 reflecting lower deposit returns and lower average unsecured balances, partly offset by higher mortgage margins.

-

Other expenses decreased by £45 million, or 2.0%, compared with 2020 primarily reflecting an 8.8% reduction in headcount as a result of continued customer digital adoption, automation and improvement of end-to-end customer journeys, including digitalising the customer account opening processes, leading to an increase in straight through processing within journeys  from 45% in December 2020 to 70% in December 2021.

-

Strategic costs of £117 million in Q4 2021 include an £85 million impairment of goodwill, reflecting a legacy business in accelerated run down within Retail Banking.

-

An impairment release of £36 million primarily reflects ECL provision releases in the non-defaulted portfolio.

-

Net loans to customers increased by £9.9 billion, or 5.7%, compared with 2020 as a result of strong gross new mortgage lending and improved retention. Gross new mortgage lending was £36.0 billion with flow share of 11.5%, supporting mortgage balance growth of £9.8 billion or 6.0%, representing a stock share of 11.0%. Cards were stable however; we have seen improved customer spend and demand in the second half of 2021. Personal advances reduced by £0.2 billion as customers made higher overdraft repayments in H1 2021, reflecting the impact of UK Government restrictions partly offset by growth in H2 2021 as customer demand for personal loans increased as the UK economy recovered.

-

Customer deposits increased by £17.1 billion, or 10.0%, compared with 2020 as UK Government schemes combined with Covid-related restrictions resulted in lower customer spend and increased savings in H1 2021.

-

RWAs were broadly stable compared with 2020 primarily reflecting lending growth, offset by continued quality improvements.

Q4 performance

-

Total income was £33 million, or 2.9%, higher than Q3 2021 reflecting higher transactional-related fee income, higher mortgage balances, higher unsecured balances and improved deposit returns, partially offset by mortgage margin dilution as competition in the market remained intense. Non-interest income in Q4 2021 benefitted from the impact of movements in one-off items, including travel related profit share, totaling around £9 million. Total income was £190 million higher than Q4 2020, primarily reflecting mortgage balance and margin improvements and the non-repeat of a loss on acquisition.

-

Net interest margin was 1 basis point lower than Q3 2021 reflecting mortgage margin dilution, largely offset by the continued recovery in unsecured balances and higher deposit returns, supported by the December 2021 GBP base rate rise.   Mortgage completion margins of 102 basis points were lower than the back book margin of 161 basis points, with application margins of 60 basis points in the quarter, reflecting a steep rise in swap rates, increasing to around 70 basis points in the latter part of Q4 2021.

-

Other expenses were £62 million, or 11.4% higher than Q3 2021 largely due to the inclusion of the annual UK bank levy charge and the timing of marketing, investment, and other non-staff costs. 

-

Impairment losses of £5 million in Q4 2021 primarily reflects Stage 3 defaults, which remain at low levels, partially offset by ECL provision releases from the improved economic outlook. 

-

Net loans to customers increased by £1.7 billion, or 0.9% compared with Q3 2021 reflecting continued mortgage growth of £1.4 billion, with gross new mortgage lending of £8.4 billion representing flow share of 12.3%. Both personal advances and cards increased by £0.1 billion respectively as customer demand and spend levels continued to increase.

 

 

Business performance summary

Private Banking

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Total income

816

763

 

253

195

184

Operating expenses

(520)

(455)

 

(155)

(116)

(91)

   of which: Other expenses

(504)

(466)

 

(145)

(117)

(119)

Impairment releases/(losses)

54

(100)

 

12

15

(26)

Operating profit

350

208

 

110

94

67

Return on equity

17.0%

10.3%

 

21.3%

18.1%

13.3%

Net interest margin

1.76%

2.05%

 

1.75%

1.76%

1.86%

Cost:income ratio

63.7%

59.6%

 

61.3%

59.5%

49.5%

Loan impairment rate

(29)bps

58bps

 

(26)bps

(32)bps

61bps

 

 

 

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

18.4

18.4

17.0

Customer deposits

 

 

 

39.3

35.7

32.4

RWAs

 

 

 

11.3

11.4

10.9

Assets Under Management (AUMs) (1)

 

 

 

30.2

30.5

27.0

Assets Under Administration (AUAs) (1)

 

 

 

5.4

5.2

5.1

Assets Under Management and Administration (AUMA) (1)

 

 

 

35.6

35.7

32.1

 

(1)      The definition of AUMs/AUAs has been updated to provide clarity on assets where the investment management is undertaken by Private Banking. AUMs now comprise assets where the investment management is undertaken by Private Banking irrespective of the franchise the customer belongs to. AUAs now comprises third party assets held on an execution-only basis in custody. Total AUMA remain as before.

 

In 2021, Private Banking delivered strong growth across AUMA, lending and deposits which has supported a 2021 return on equity of 17.0% and operating profit of £350 million. Digital net new money across NatWest Invest, Royal Bank Invest and Coutts Invest of £0.8 billion in 2021 is more than double 2020. Approximately 2,114 new customers were onboarded into Private Banking, an increase of around 29% compared to 2020.
 

NatWest Group completed the sale of Adam & Company's investment management business on 1 October 2021 for a total consideration of £54 million, which has been recorded as a notable item in the Q4 2021 results.

 

2021 performance

-

Total income was £53 million, or 6.9%, higher than 2020 reflecting a £54 million consideration from the sale of the Adam & Company investment management business in Q4 2021 and strong balance growth partially offset by lower deposit returns in a lower interest rate environment.

-

Net interest margin decreased by 29 basis points reflecting lower deposit returns and higher liquidity portfolio costs.

-

Other expenses were £38 million, or 7.9%, higher than 2020 principally due to investment in digital infrastructure and an increase in headcount related to the enhancement of AUMA growth propositions.

-

A net impairment release of £54 million in 2021 mainly reflects ECL provision releases in non-default portfolios.

-

Net loans to customers increased by £1.4 billion, or 8.2%, compared with 2020 driven by continued strong mortgage lending growth of £1.1 billion or 10.3%, including gross new lending of £3.3 billion. RWAs increased by £0.4 billion, or 3.7%.

-

Customer deposits increased by £6.9 billion, or 21.3%, compared with 2020 reflecting strong personal and commercial inflows as UK Government restrictions resulted in clients continuing to build and retain liquidity.

-

AUMAs increased by £3.5 billion, or 10.9%, driven by an increase in AUM net new money (NNM) of £3.0 billion and AUM positive investment performance of £2.1 billion, partially offset by the £1.8 billion impact of the sale of Adam & Company's investment management business and £0.2 billion EEA resident client outflows following the UK's exit from the EU. AUM NNM of £3.0 billion represents 9.3% of opening AUMAs, which is double NNM in 2020.

 

Q4 performance

-

Total income was £58 million, or 29.7%, higher than Q3 2021 impacted by the consideration from the sale of the Adam & Company investment management business.

-

Net interest margin decreased by 1 basis point in Q4 2021 as higher funding costs were partially offset by an increase in deposit income. Mortgage book margin was 182 basis points at Q4 2021.

-

Other expenses were £28 million, or 23.9%, higher than Q3 2021 largely due to the annual bank levy charge and timing of marketing spend. Other expenses were £26 million, or 21.8% higher than Q4 2020 largely reflecting investment in digital infrastructure, timing of marketing spend and a 4.2% increase in headcount related to the enhancement of AUMA growth propositions.

-

Net loans to customers were stable compared with Q3 2021 with mortgage growth offset by lower commercial lending.

-

AUMAs were broadly stable compared with Q3 2021 as an increase in NNM of £0.7 billion and positive investment performance of £1.1 billion, was offset by the £1.8 billion impact from the sale of Adam & Company's investment management business.

 

 

 

Business performance summary

Commercial Banking

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Total income

3,875

3,958

 

987

965

951

Operating expenses

(2,354)

(2,430)

 

(646)

(556)

(656)

   of which: Other expenses (excluding OLD)

(2,013)

(2,116)

 

(546)

(484)

(560)

Impairment releases/(losses)

1,073

(1,927)

 

289

216

(10)

Operating profit/(loss)

2,594

(399)

 

630

625

285

Return on equity

22.0%

(4.5%)

 

22.4%

21.7%

8.1%

Net interest margin

1.54%

1.68%

 

1.52%

1.49%

1.56%

Cost:income ratio

59.3%

59.9%

 

64.2%

56.0%

67.8%

Loan impairment rate

(104)bps

173bps

 

(113)bps

(83)bps

4bps

 

 

 

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

101.2

102.7

108.2

Customer deposits

 

 

 

177.7

178.3

167.7

RWAs

 

 

 

66.4

66.4

75.1

 

Commercial Banking delivered a resilient performance with a return on equity of 22.0% and operating profit of £2,594 million including a £1,073 million impairment release as the UK economy continued to recover. Returns have improved through active capital management, pricing discipline, and a targeted sector strategy linked to our purpose.

 

Growth in Tyl, our innovative merchant acquiring platform, saw over £1.5 billon of transactions in 2021, three times 2020 levels, as transaction activity recovered and customers favoured digital payment solutions and reduced their reliance on cash and branch.

 

Commercial Banking completed £5.2 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing in 2021, including £2.7 billion in H2 2021 which will contribute towards the new NatWest Group target of £100 billion between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.
 

2021 performance

-

Total income was £83 million, or 2.1%, lower than 2020 due to reduced deposit returns in a low interest rate environment and lower lending volumes, partially offset by a recovery in transactional banking fee income in H2 2021 driven by the UK economy.

-

Net interest margin decreased by 14 basis points in 2021 reflecting lower deposit returns.

-

Other expenses, excluding OLD, decreased by £103 million, or 4.8%, compared with 2020 reflecting cost efficiencies and simplifying our operating model enabling better service to our customers including building momentum in our digital service, whilst reducing our headcount by 9.8%.

-

Impairment release of £1,073 million primarily reflects ECL provision releases related to the improved economic outlook with Stage 3 defaults remaining at low levels.

-

Net loans to customers decreased by £7.0 billion, or 6.5%, compared with 2020 primarily reflecting targeted sector reductions including real estate, retail and leisure and active capital management of £1.0 billion. Customer liquidity resulted in net revolving credit facility (RCF) repayments of £1.7 billion driven by large corporates & institutions and real estate as well as UK Government financial support scheme repayments of £1.3 billion. RCF utilisation was approximately 19% of committed facilities in 2021, significantly below pre-COVID-19 levels of approximately 27%. These items were partially offset by £1.4 billion lower loan provisions and growth in specialist businesses of £0.7 billion.

-

Customer deposits increased by £10.0 billion, or 6.0%, compared with 2020 reflecting customer behaviour to build and retain liquidity. 

-

RWAs decreased by £8.7 billion, or 11.6%, compared with 2020 mainly reflecting business movements including targeted sector reductions in real estate and retail, improvement in risk parameters and active capital management of £1.5 billion.

 

Q4 performance

-

Total income was £22 million, or 2.3%, higher than Q3 2021 due to improved deposit returns supporting an increase in net interest income and continued recovery in transactional banking payment activity.

-

Net interest margin improved by 3bps compared with Q3 2021 due to higher deposit returns supported by the December 2021 GBP base rate rise.

-

Other expenses, excluding OLD, were £61 million, or 12.6%, higher than Q3 2021 largely due to due to the inclusion of the annual UK bank levy charge and the timing of marketing and other non-staff costs.

-

Impairment release of £289 million in Q4 2021 primarily reflects ECL releases related to the improved economic outlook with Stage 3 defaults remaining at low levels.

-

Net loans to customers were £1.5 billion, or 1.5%, lower than Q3 2021 primarily reflecting UK Government financial support scheme repayments of £0.7 billion, further targeted sector reductions including Real Estate £0.8 billion and working capital flows, partly offset by an increase in specialist business activity of £0.7 billion, and lower loan provision of £0.4 billion.

-

Customer deposits were £0.6 billion, or 0.3%, lower than Q3 2021 in part due to seasonal outflows.

     
 

 

Business performance summary

RBS International

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Total income

548

497

 

156

136

126

Operating expenses

(242)

(291)

 

(70)

(60)

(112)

   of which: Other expenses

(228)

(244)

 

(68)

(56)

(73)

Impairment releases/(losses)

52

(107)

 

12

11

(27)

Operating profit

358

99

 

98

87

(13)

Return on equity

22.5%

6.1%

 

24.0%

21.6%

(5.5%)

Net interest margin

1.01%

1.17%

 

0.99%

0.99%

1.03%

Cost:income ratio

44.2%

58.6%

 

44.9%

44.1%

88.9%

Loan impairment rate

(33)bps

80bps

 

(31)bps

(28)bps

81bps

 

 

 

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

15.5

15.6

13.3

Customer deposits

 

 

 

37.5

36.9

31.3

RWAs

 

 

 

7.5

8.1

7.5

Depositary assets (1)

 

 

 

479.4

463.8

427.5

 

(1)      Assets held by RBSI as an independent trustee and in a depositary service capacity.

 

During 2021 RBS International (RBSI) delivered £358 million of operating profit with return on equity of 22.5% through strong lending and deposit volumes, an impairment release and continued growth in our depositary offering. This was achieved while continuing investment in our digital offering to customers including new payment features on the mobile app for both personal and business customers and the extension of our video banking proposition delivered in 2021.

 

RBSI completed £1.5 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing in 2021, including £0.9 billion in H2 2021 which will contribute towards the new NatWest Group target of £100 billion between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.

 

2021 performance

-

Total income increased by £51 million, or 10.3%, compared with 2020 as a result of higher average lending balances in Institutional Banking, including higher non-utilisation fees, and higher depositary fee income.

-

Net interest margin decreased by 16 basis points in 2021 reflecting a higher proportion of lower yielding assets with central banks due to the higher volume of short term customer deposits in the year.

-

Other expenses decreased by £16 million, or 6.6%, compared with 2020 primarily reflecting the reduction in the bank levy charge for 2021.

-

An impairment release of £52 million in 2021 largely reflects releases across Stage 1 and 2 within the wholesale sector.

-

Net loans to customers increased by £2.2 billion, or 16.5%, compared with 2020 as a result of higher Institutional Banking sector volumes.

-

Customer deposits increased by £6.2 billion, or 19.8%, compared with 2020 as a result of higher call balances in the Institutional Banking sector throughout the year.

-

Depositary assets were £51.9 billion, or 12.1%, higher than 2020 reflecting strong performance in the funds sector primarily in the UK.

-

RWAs of £7.5 billion are broadly stable compared with 2020 as a result of lending volume growth primarily in the Institutional Banking sector, offset by model updates in the period.

 

Q4 performance

-

Total income increased by £20 million, or 14.7%, compared with Q3 2021 reflecting higher fee income from higher arrangement and account maintenance fees and higher volume growth.

-

Net interest margin remained broadly stable in Q4 2021 as higher income from higher average lending balances was offset by high levels of short-term customer deposits placed with central banks at the start of the quarter.  

-

Other expenses increased by £12 million, or 21.4%, million compared to Q3 2021 primarily due to additional technology spend, annual license fees and a £2 million charge relating to the annual bank levy.

-

Net loans to customers decreased by £0.1 billion, or 0.6% compared with Q3 2021 primarily due to seasonal repayments in Institutional Banking Fund balances.

-

Customer deposits increased by £0.6 billion, or 1.6% compared with Q3 2021 as a result of higher call balances in the Institutional Banking sector in the quarter.

 

 

Business performance summary

NatWest Markets (1)

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Income before revenue share paid, asset disposals and OCA

670

1,423

 

78

160

177

Revenue share with other NatWest Group segments

(197)

(193)

 

(44)

(55)

(53)

Income excluding asset disposals and OCA

473

1,230

 

34

105

124

Asset disposals/strategic risk reduction (2)

(64)

(83)

 

(12)

(12)

(8)

Own credit adjustments (OCA)

6

(24)

 

3

2

(43)

Total income

415

1,123

 

25

95

73

Operating expenses

(1,161)

(1,310)

 

(343)

(258)

(301)

   of which: Other expenses

(907)

(1,038)

 

(245)

(206)

(244)

Impairment releases/(losses)

35

(40)

 

16

3

(2)

Operating loss

(711)

(227)

 

(302)

(160)

(230)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on equity

(13.1%)

(3.8%)

 

(22.5%)

(12.1%)

(15.0%)

Cost:income ratio

279.8%

116.7%

 

nm

271.6%

nm

 

 

 

 

£bn

£bn

£bn

Funded assets

 

 

 

96.1

108.0

105.9

RWAs

 

 

 

24.2

25.4

26.9

 

(1)      The NatWest Markets operating segment is not the same as the NatWest Markets Plc legal entity (NWM Plc) or group (NWM or NWM Group) because the NatWest Markets segment excludes the Central items & other segment.

(2)      Asset disposals/strategic risk reduction relates to the cost of exiting positions, which includes changes in carrying value to align to the expected exit valuation, and the impact of risk reduction transactions entered into, in respect of the strategic announcement on 14 February 2020.

 

NatWest Markets has supported its customers' evolving needs with innovative solutions and continued to deliver a more integrated customer proposition across NatWest Group. NatWest Markets has made good progress on building a refocused, sustainable business from which it can grow. NatWest Markets incurred an operating loss in 2021 but has largely completed its RWA reduction and continued to reduce operating expenses, and in Q4 2021, introduced changes to Rates which will improve the strategic alignment with the rest of the business and drive income growth. NatWest Markets performance at the beginning of 2022 has been in line with expectations.

 

NatWest Markets completed £9.7 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing in 2021, including £3.3 billion in H2 2021 which will contribute towards the new NatWest Group target of £100 billion between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.

 

2021 performance

-

Income excluding asset disposals/strategic risk reduction and OCA was £757 million, or 61.5% lower than 2020. The performance of Fixed Income was weak in 2021 impacted by subdued levels of customer activity and the reshaping of the business, in contrast to the prior year which benefited from exceptional levels of market activity generated by the initial spread of the COVID-19 virus. Both Currencies and Capital Markets income were lower than 2020 but performed broadly in line with expectations.

-

Other expenses decreased by £131 million, or 12.6%, compared with 2020 reflecting continued reductions in line with the strategic announcement in February 2020.

-

A net impairment release of £35 million in 2021 reflects releases against a number of cases throughout the year.

-

RWAs decreased by £2.7 billion, or 10.0%, compared with 2020 reflecting lower levels of market risk and counterparty credit risk, including the impact of capital optimisation actions taken throughout the year

 

Q4 performance

-

Income excluding asset disposals/strategic risk reduction and OCA was £71 million lower than Q3 2021 and £90 million lower than Q4 2020 reflecting continued weakness in Fixed Income, which was further impacted by subdued levels of customer activity and ongoing reshaping of the business. Disposal losses were £12 million, in line with Q3 2021. An OCA increase of £46 million compared with Q4 2020 was partially offset by £4 million higher disposal losses.

-

Other expenses were £39 million higher than Q3 2021 largely due to higher back office operational costs, including the annual bank levy charge.

-

RWAs decreased by £1.2 billion, or 4.7%, compared with Q3 2021 primarily due to a seasonal reduction in counterparty credit risk towards the end of the year.

 

 

 

Business performance summary

Ulster Bank RoI 

Continuing operations

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020 (1)

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (1)

 

€m

€m

 

€m

€m

€m

Total income

265

250

 

50

93

63

Operating expenses

(557)

(498)

 

(153)

(131)

(115)

  of which: Other expenses

(487)

(462)

 

(111)

(121)

(100)

Impairment releases/(losses)

33

(157)

 

15

9

(7)

Operating loss

(259)

(405)

 

(88)

(29)

(59)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

€bn

€bn

€bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

7.9

15.3

20.0

Customer deposits

 

 

 

21.9

21.6

21.8

RWAs

 

 

 

10.9

11.7

13.2

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

Total UB RoI including discontinued operations

 

Year ended and as at

 

Quarter ended and as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

€m

€m

 

€m

€m

€m

Total income

578

574

 

128

171

144

Operating expenses

(609)

(548)

 

(166)

(144)

(127)

  of which: Other expenses

(539)

(512)

 

(124)

(134)

(112)

Impairment releases/(losses)

99

(281)

 

67

19

3

Operating profit/(loss)

68

(255)

 

29

46

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

€bn

€bn

€bn

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

 

18.6

19.0

20.0

Customer deposits

 

 

 

21.9

21.6

21.8

RWAs

 

 

 

10.9

11.7

13.2

 

Ulster Bank RoI continues to make progress on its phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland. On 17 December 2021 UBIDAC entered a legally binding agreement with Permanent TSB p.l.c. (PTSB) for the proposed sale of approximately €7.6bn of gross performing loans as at 30 June 2021, comprising performing non-tracker mortgages, performing loans in the micro-SME business, the UBIDAC Asset Finance business, including its digital platform, and 25 Ulster Bank branch locations. Completion of the sale is subject to obtaining competition, regulatory and other approvals, including PTSB's holding company shareholder approval, and other conditions being satisfied. The transaction is expected to occur in phases between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 with the majority of loans expected to transfer by Q4 2022.

Progress continues with Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. (AIB) for the transfer of approximately €4.2bn, plus up to €2.8bn of undrawn exposures, of performing commercial lending. A key part of the process is to complete the regulatory approvals and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has already carried out an extended preliminary investigation and on 31 December 2021 announced its decision to carry out a Phase 2 investigation into the proposed sale. There is no firm date for the completion of this process. Discussions are ongoing with other counterparties about their potential interest in other parts of the bank.

Continuing operations of Ulster Bank RoI include re-presented comparatives for the income statement. The representation is in accordance with IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations.

 

2021 performance (continuing operations)

-

Total income was €15 million, or 6.0%, higher than 2020 reflecting gains arising from the adjustment of the swap hedging portfolio to align the modelled maturity position of deposits and other balances to the withdrawal plan, offset by lower lending levels and fee income as a result of the decision to withdraw from the RoI market.

-

Other expenses were €25 million, or 5.4%, higher than 2020, due to higher VAT costs and regulatory levies, partially offset by a 15% reduction in headcount, lower advertising spend and back office operational costs.

-

A net impairment release of €33 million in 2021 reflects improvements in the reducing loan portfolios and economic forecasts.

-

Net loans to customers decreased by €12.1 billion primarily due to the reclassification of €10.7 billion of loans to the disposal group.

Q4 performance (continuing operations)

-

Total income was €43 million, or 46.2%, lower than Q3 2021 mainly due to the gain arising from the adjustment of the swap hedging portfolio in Q3 2021.

-

Other expenses were €10 million, or 8.3%, lower than Q3 2021 primarily due to lower back office operational costs.

-

Net loans to customers decreased by €7.4 billion primarily due to the reclassification of €7.0 billion of loans to the disposal group.

 

 

Business performance summary

Central items & other

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Central items not allocated

(301)

(653)

 

(211)

(173)

(153)

 

-

Central items not allocated represented a £301 million operating loss in 2021 principally reflecting litigation and conduct charges of £243 million, strategic costs of £201 million and losses on redemption of own debt of £138 million related to the repurchase of legacy instruments, partially offset by a £219 million share of gains under equity accounting for Business Growth Fund, and other Treasury income. 2020 included the day one loss on redemption of own debt of £324 million related to the repurchase of legacy instruments, property-related strategic costs and litigation and conduct charges.

 

Segment performance

 

Year ended 31 December 2021

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

excluding

 

 

Total

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Central items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income statement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income

4,074

480

2,582

383

9

(14)

7,514

 

100

7,614

Own credit adjustments

-

-

-

-

6

-

6

 

-

6

Other non-interest income

371

336

1,293

165

400

199

2,764

 

128

2,892

Total income 

4,445

816

3,875

548

415

185

10,284

 

228

10,512

Direct expenses - staff costs

(454)

(138)

(557)

(108)

(369)

(1,498)

(3,124)

 

(141)

(3,265)

                           - other costs

(225)

(52)

(264)

(57)

(113)

(2,397)

(3,108)

 

(132)

(3,240)

Indirect expenses

(1,571)

(314)

(1,332)

(63)

(425)

3,853

148

 

(148)

-

Strategic costs  - direct

(126)

(10)

(60)

(8)

(237)

(327)

(768)

 

(19)

(787)

                           - indirect

(61)

(9)

(33)

(3)

(17)

126

3

 

(3)

-

Litigation and conduct costs

(76)

3

(108)

(3)

-

(243)

(427)

 

(39)

(466)

Operating expenses

(2,513)

(520)

(2,354)

(242)

(1,161)

(486)

(7,276)

 

(482)

(7,758)

Operating profit/(loss) before impairment releases

1,932

296

1,521

306

(746)

(301)

3,008

 

(254)

2,754

Impairment releases

36

54

1,073

52

35

-

1,250

 

28

1,278

Operating profit/(loss)

1,968

350

2,594

358

(711)

(301)

4,258

 

(226)

4,032

Income excluding notable items

4,445

762

3,865

548

473

(19)

10,074

 

193

10,267

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on tangible equity (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

10.0%

 

na

9.4%

Return on equity (1)

26.1%

17.0%

22.0%

22.5%

(13.1%)

nm

nm

 

nm

na

Cost:income ratio (1)

56.5%

63.7%

59.3%

44.2%

279.8%

nm

70.3%

 

nm

73.4%

Total assets (£bn)

210.0

29.9

184.6

40.6

200.7

93.4

759.2

 

22.8

782.0

Funded assets (£bn) (1)

210.0

29.8

184.6

40.6

96.1

92.0

653.1

 

22.8

675.9

Net loans to customers - amortised cost (£bn)

182.2

18.4

101.2

15.5

7.5

27.5

352.3

 

6.7

359.0

Loan impairment rate (1)

(2)bps

(29)bps

(104)bps

(33)bps

nm

nm

(35)bps

 

nm

(35)bps

Impairment provisions (£bn)

(1.5)

(0.1)

(1.5)

(0.1)

(0.1)

-

(3.3)

 

(0.5)

(3.8)

Impairment provisions - stage 3 (£bn)

(0.9)

-

(0.6)

-

(0.1)

-

(1.6)

 

(0.4)

(2.0)

Customer deposits (£bn)

188.9

39.3

177.7

37.5

2.3

15.7

461.4

 

18.4

479.8

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (£bn)

36.7

11.3

66.4

7.5

24.2

1.8

147.9

 

9.1

157.0

RWA equivalent (RWAe) (£bn)

36.7

11.3

66.4

7.7

25.8

2.1

150.0

 

9.1

159.1

Employee numbers (FTEs - thousands) 

14.6

1.9

8.6

1.6

1.6

27.9

56.2

 

1.7

57.9

Third party customer asset rate (2)

2.66%

2.36%

2.71%

2.26%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Third party customer funding rate (2)

(0.06%)

-

(0.01%)

0.08%

nm

nm

nm

 

0.02%

nm

Average interest earning assets (£bn) (1)

196.0

27.2

168.1

37.8

32.7

nm

nm

 

15.9

524.9

Net interest margin (1)

2.08%

1.76%

1.54%

1.01%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Bank net interest margin (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

2.39%

 

na

na

 

For the notes to this table, refer to page 23. nm = not meaningful.

 

 

 

Segment performance

 

Year ended 31 December 2020 (3)

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

excluding

 

 

Total

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Central items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income statement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income

3,868

489

2,740

371

(57)

(57)

7,354

 

122

7,476

Own credit adjustments

-

-

-

-

(24)

-

(24)

 

-

(24)

Other non-interest income

313

274

1,218

126

1,204

(179)

2,956

 

100

3,056

Total income 

4,181

763

3,958

497

1,123

(236)

10,286

 

222

10,508

Direct expenses - staff costs

(516)

(149)

(638)

(117)

(524)

(1,319)

(3,263)

 

(153)

(3,416)

                           - other costs

(208)

(52)

(284)

(53)

(152)

(2,481)

(3,230)

 

(86)

(3,316)

Indirect expenses

(1,571)

(265)

(1,339)

(74)

(362)

3,781

170

 

(170)

-

Strategic costs  - direct

(52)

(2)

(40)

(45)

(237)

(625)

(1,001)

 

(12)

(1,013)

                           - indirect

(174)

(13)

(139)

(4)

(30)

373

13

 

(13)

-

Litigation and conduct costs

(19)

26

10

2

(5)

(120)

(106)

 

(7)

(113)

Operating expenses

(2,540)

(455)

(2,430)

(291)

(1,310)

(391)

(7,417)

 

(441)

(7,858)

Operating profit/(loss) before impairment losses

1,641

308

1,528

206

(187)

(627)

2,869

 

(219)

2,650

Impairment losses

(792)

(100)

(1,927)

(107)

(40)

(26)

(2,992)

 

(139)

(3,131)

Operating profit/(loss)

849

208

(399)

99

(227)

(653)

(123)

 

(358)

(481)

Income excluding notable items

4,231

763

3,995

497

1,230

(46)

10,670

 

222

10,892

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on tangible equity (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

1.2%

 

na

(2.4%)

Return on equity (1)

10.2%

10.3%

(4.5%)

6.1%

(3.8%)

nm

nm

 

nm

na

Cost:income ratio (1)

60.8%

59.6%

59.9%

58.6%

116.7%

nm

71.7%

 

nm

74.4%

Total assets (£bn)

197.6

26.2

187.4

34.0

270.1

57.6

772.9

 

26.6

799.5

Funded assets (£bn) (1)

197.6

26.2

187.4

34.0

105.9

55.3

606.4

 

26.6

633.0

Net loans to customers - amortised cost (£bn)

172.3

17.0

108.2

13.3

8.4

23.3

342.5

 

18.0

360.5

Loan impairment rate (1)

45bps

58bps

173bps

80bps

nm

nm

86bps

 

nm

85bps

Impairment provisions (£bn)

(1.8)

(0.1)

(2.9)

(0.1)

(0.2)

(0.1)

(5.2)

 

(0.8)

(6.0)

Impairment provisions - stage 3 (£bn)

(0.8)

-

(1.1)

-

(0.1)

(0.1)

(2.1)

 

(0.5)

(2.6)

Customer deposits (£bn)

171.8

32.4

167.7

31.3

2.6

6.3

412.1

 

19.6

431.7

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (£bn)

36.7

10.9

75.1

7.5

26.9

1.4

158.5

 

11.8

170.3

RWA equivalent (RWAe) (£bn)

36.7

10.9

75.1

7.5

28.7

1.6

160.5

 

11.8

172.3

Employee numbers (FTEs - thousands) 

16.0

1.8

9.6

1.7

2.2

25.9

57.2

 

2.0

59.2

Third party customer asset rate (2)

2.89%

2.53%

2.86%

2.51%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Third party customer funding rate (2)

(0.19%)

(0.11%)

(0.08%)

(0.01%)

nm

nm

nm

 

(0.04%)

nm

Average interest earning assets (£bn) (1)

181.4

23.8

163.1

31.7

37.9

nm

nm

 

16.6

483.7

Net interest margin (1)

2.13%

2.05%

1.68%

1.17%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Bank net interest margin (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

2.46%

 

na

na

 

For the notes to this table, refer to page 23. nm = not meaningful.

 

 

Segment performance

 

Quarter ended 31 December 2021

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

excluding

 

 

Total

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Central items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income statement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income

1,057

126

645

106

13

(28)

1,919

 

23

1,942

Own credit adjustments

-

-

-

-

3

1

4

 

-

4

Other non-interest income

107

127

342

50

9

21

656

 

20

676

Total income 

1,164

253

987

156

25

(6)

2,579

 

43

2,622

Direct expenses - staff costs

(112)

(36)

(136)

(28)

(95)

(352)

(759)

 

(34)

(793)

                              - other costs

(64)

(22)

(68)

(21)

(20)

(737)

(932)

 

(35)

(967)

Indirect expenses

(429)

(87)

(376)

(19)

(130)

1,067

26

 

(26)

-

Strategic costs  - direct

(105)

(3)

(17)

(1)

(96)

(147)

(369)

 

(9)

(378)

                            - indirect

(12)

(2)

(3)

-

(2)

19

-

 

-

-

Litigation and conduct costs

(52)

(5)

(46)

(1)

-

(59)

(163)

 

(27)

(190)

Operating expenses

(774)

(155)

(646)

(70)

(343)

(209)

(2,197)

 

(131)

(2,328)

Operating profit/(loss) before impairment (losses)/releases

390

98

341

86

(318)

(215)

382

 

(88)

294

Impairment (losses)/releases

(5)

12

289

12

16

4

328

 

13

341

Operating profit/(loss)

385

110

630

98

(302)

(211)

710

 

(75)

635

Income excluding notable items

1,164

199

991

156

34

(27)

2,517

 

43

2,560

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on tangible equity 

na

na

na

na

na

na

5.5%

 

na

5.6%

Return on equity (1)

19.7%

21.3%

22.4%

24.0%

(22.5%)

nm

nm

 

nm

na

Cost:income ratio (1)

66.5%

61.3%

64.2%

44.9%

nm

nm

85.0%

 

nm

88.6%

Total assets (£bn)

210.0

29.9

184.6

40.6

200.7

93.4

759.2

 

22.8

782.0

Funded assets (£bn) (1)

210.0

29.8

184.6

40.6

96.1

92.0

653.1

 

22.8

675.9

Net loans to customers - amortised cost (£bn)

182.2

18.4

101.2

15.5

7.5

27.5

352.3

 

6.7

359.0

Loan impairment rate (1)

1bps

(26)bps

(113)bps

(31)bps

nm

nm

(37)bps

 

nm

(38)bps

Impairment provisions (£bn)

(1.5)

(0.1)

(1.5)

(0.1)

(0.1)

-

(3.3)

 

(0.5)

(3.8)

Impairment provisions - stage 3 (£bn)

(0.9)

-

(0.6)

-

(0.1)

-

(1.6)

 

(0.4)

(2.0)

Customer deposits (£bn)

188.9

39.3

177.7

37.5

2.3

15.7

461.4

 

18.4

479.8

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (£bn)

36.7

11.3

66.4

7.5

24.2

1.8

147.9

 

9.1

157.0

RWA equivalent (RWAe) (£bn)

36.7

11.3

66.4

7.7

25.8

2.1

150.0

 

9.1

159.1

Employee numbers (FTEs - thousands) 

14.6

1.9

8.6

1.6

1.6

27.9

56.2

 

1.7

57.9

Third party customer asset rate (2) 

2.58%

2.34%

2.73%

2.33%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Third party customer funding rate (2)

(0.05%)

-

-

0.12%

nm

nm

nm

 

0.05%

nm

Average interest earning assets (£bn) (1)

201.5

28.5

168.4

42.7

33.7

nm

536.6

 

15.0

551.6

Net interest margin (1)

2.08%

1.75%

1.52%

0.99%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Bank net interest margin (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

2.38%

 

na

na

 

For the notes to this table, refer to page 23. nm = not meaningful.
 

Segment performance

 

Quarter ended 30 September 2021 (3)

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

excluding

 

 

Total

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Central items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income statement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income

1,041

122

629

95

(1)

(20)

1,866

 

23

1,889

Own credit adjustments

-

-

-

-

2

-

2

 

-

2

Other non-interest income

90

73

336

41

94

127

761

 

56

817

Total income 

1,131

195

965

136

95

107

2,629

 

79

2,708

Direct expenses - staff costs

(110)

(35)

(141)

(28)

(86)

(378)

(778)

 

(35)

(813)

                            - other costs

(50)

(10)

(65)

(12)

(29)

(552)

(718)

 

(29)

(747)

Indirect expenses

(383)

(72)

(314)

(16)

(91)

915

39

 

(39)

-

Strategic costs  - direct

(5)

(2)

(4)

(1)

(51)

(5)

(68)

 

(9)

(77)

                           - indirect

11

-

(7)

(1)

1

(3)

1

 

(1)

-

Litigation and conduct costs

(15)

3

(25)

(2)

(2)

(254)

(295)

 

1

(294)

Operating expenses

(552)

(116)

(556)

(60)

(258)

(277)

(1,819)

 

(112)

(1,931)

Operating profit/(loss) before impairment (losses)/releases

579

79

409

76

(163)

(170)

810

 

(33)

777

Impairment (losses)/releases

(16)

15

216

11

3

(3)

226

 

7

233

Operating profit/(loss)

563

94

625

87

(160)

(173)

1,036

 

(26)

1,010

Income excluding notable items

1,131

195

961

136

105

(17)

2,511

 

44

2,555

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on tangible equity (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

8.6%

 

na

8.5%

Return on equity (1)

29.9%

18.1%

21.7%

21.6%

(12.1%)

nm

nm

 

nm

na

Cost:income ratio (1)

48.8%

59.5%

56.0%

44.1%

271.6%

nm

68.8%

 

nm

70.9%

Total assets (£bn)

207.6

28.2

186.0

39.9

210.1

81.3

753.1

 

25.2

778.3

Funded assets (£bn) (1)

207.6

28.2

186.0

39.9

108.0

79.6

649.3

 

25.2

674.5

Net loans to customers - amortised cost (£bn)

180.5

18.4

102.7

15.6

7.1

23.5

347.8

 

13.2

361.0

Loan impairment rate (1)

4bps

(32)bps

(83)bps

(28)bps

nm

nm

(26)bps

 

nm

(26)bps

Impairment provisions (£bn)

(1.6)

(0.1)

(1.9)

(0.1)

(0.1)

-

(3.8)

 

(0.5)

(4.3)

Impairment provisions - stage 3 (£bn)

(0.8)

-

(0.8)

(0.1)

(0.1)

-

(1.8)

 

(0.4)

(2.2)

Customer deposits (£bn)

186.3

35.7

178.3

36.9

2.2

18.4

457.8

 

18.5

476.3

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (£bn)

36.6

11.4

66.4

8.1

25.4

1.9

149.8

 

10.0

159.8

RWA equivalent (RWAe) (£bn)

36.6

11.4

66.5

8.2

26.9

2.1

151.7

 

10.0

161.7

Employee numbers (FTEs - thousands) 

15.0

1.9

8.8

1.6

1.6

27.5

56.4

 

1.8

58.2

Third party customer asset rate (2) 

2.64%

2.36%

2.65%

2.24%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Third party customer funding rate (2)

(0.05%)

-

-

0.07%

nm

nm

nm

 

0.02%

nm

Average interest earning assets (£bn) (1)

197.5

27.5

167.5

37.9

32.5

nm

nm

 

15.7

527.9

Net interest margin (1)

2.09%

1.76%

1.49%

0.99%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Bank net interest margin (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

2.41%

 

na

na

 

For the notes to this table, refer to the following page. nm = not meaningful.

 

 

Segment performance

 

Quarter ended 31 December 2020 (3)

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

excluding

 

 

Total

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Central items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income statement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income

949

118

667

85

(2)

53

1,870

 

31

1,901

Own credit adjustments

-

-

-

-

(43)

-

(43)

 

-

(43)

Other non-interest income

25

66

284

41

118

43

577

 

27

604

Total income 

974

184

951

126

73

96

2,404

 

58

2,462

Direct expenses - staff costs

(117)

(32)

(141)

(25)

(90)

(385)

(790)

 

(37)

(827)

                              - other costs

(56)

(16)

(72)

(16)

(21)

(780)

(961)

 

(21)

(982)

Indirect expenses

(393)

(71)

(382)

(32)

(133)

1,042

31

 

(31)

-

Strategic costs  - direct

(6)

2

(35)

(37)

(50)

(197)

(323)

 

(3)

(326)

                            - indirect

(36)

(3)

(28)

(1)

(6)

77

3

 

(3)

-

Litigation and conduct costs

(210)

29

2

(1)

(1)

(5)

(186)

 

(8)

(194)

Operating expenses

(818)

(91)

(656)

(112)

(301)

(248)

(2,226)

 

(103)

(2,329)

Operating profit/(loss) before impairment (losses)/releases

156

93

295

14

(228)

(152)

178

 

(45)

133

Impairment (losses)/releases

(65)

(26)

(10)

(27)

(2)

(1)

(131)

 

(8)

(139)

Operating profit/(loss)

91

67

285

(13)

(230)

(153)

47

 

(53)

(6)

Income excluding notable items

1,031

184

978

126

124

42

2,485

 

58

2,543

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return on tangibe equity (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

0.3%

 

na

(1.4%)

Return on equity (1)

3.8%

13.3%

8.1%

(5.5%)

(15.0%)

nm

nm

 

nm

na

Cost:income ratio (1)

84.0%

49.5%

67.8%

88.9%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

94.5%

Total assets (£bn)

197.6

26.2

187.4

34.0

270.1

57.6

772.9

 

26.6

799.5

Funded assets (£bn) (1)

197.6

26.2

187.4

34.0

105.9

55.3

606.4

 

26.6

633.0

Net loans to customers - amortised cost (£bn)

172.3

17.0

108.2

13.3

8.4

23.3

342.5

 

18.0

360.5

Loan impairment rate (1)

15bps

61bps

4bps

81bps

nm

nm

15bps

 

nm

15bps

Impairment provisions (£bn)

(1.8)

(0.1)

(2.9)

(0.1)

(0.2)

(0.1)

(5.2)

 

(0.8)

(6.0)

Impairment provisions - stage 3 (£bn)

(0.8)

-

(1.1)

-

(0.1)

(0.1)

(2.1)

 

(0.5)

(2.6)

Customer deposits (£bn)

171.8

32.4

167.7

31.3

2.6

6.3

412.1

 

19.6

431.7

Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (£bn)

36.7

10.9

75.1

7.5

26.9

1.4

158.5

 

11.8

170.3

RWA equivalent (RWAe) (£bn)

36.7

10.9

75.1

7.5

28.7

1.6

160.5

 

11.8

172.3

Employee numbers (FTEs - thousands) 

16.0

1.8

9.6

1.7

2.2

25.9

57.2

 

2.0

59.2

Third party customer asset rate (2)

2.81%

2.38%

2.65%

2.33%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Third party customer funding rate (2)

(0.10%)

(0.01%)

(0.01%)

0.05%

nm

nm

nm

 

(0.01%)

nm

Average interest earning assets (£bn) (1)

186.1

25.2

170.2

32.9

36.5

nm

nm

 

17.0

499.8

Net interest margin (1)

2.03%

1.86%

1.56%

1.03%

nm

nm

nm

 

nm

nm

Bank net interest margin (1)

na

na

na

na

na

na

2.44%

 

na

na

 

nm = not meaningful

(1)

Refer to the appendix for details of basis of preparation and reconciliation of non-IFRS performance measures where relevant.

(2)

Third party customer asset rate is calculated as annualised interest receivable on third-party loans to customers as a percentage of third-party loans to customers. This excludes assets of disposal groups, intragroup items, loans to banks and liquid asset portfolios. Third party customer funding rate reflects interest payable or receivable on third-party customer deposits, including interest bearing and non-interest bearing customer deposits. Intragroup items, bank deposits, debt securities in issue and subordinated liabilities are excluded for customer funding rate calculation. Net interest margin is calculated as net interest income as a percentage of the average interest-earning assets, excluding assets of disposal groups and without these remaining exclusions.

(3)

Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

Business performance summary

Capital and leverage ratios

The table below sets out the key capital and leverage ratios.

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2021

2020

% 

% 

% 

CET1 

18.2

18.7

18.5

20.7

21.1

21.4

Total

24.1

24.6

24.5

 

 

 

 

£m

£m

£m

Tangible equity

30,689

30,769

31,712

 

 

 

 

(274)

(264)

(286)

(761)

(765)

(760)

21

27

(1)

(465)

(385)

(579)

395

254

(229)

(846)

(402)

(364)

(825)

(462)

-

(365)

(354)

(266)

411

476

473

621

973

1,747

Other adjustments for regulatory purposes

(5)

(5)

-

(2,093)

(907)

(265)

 

 

 

CET1 capital

28,596

29,862

31,447

AT1 capital

3,875

3,875

4,983

32,471

33,737

36,430

Tier 2 capital

5,402

5,522

5,255

Total regulatory capital

37,873

39,259

41,685

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit risk

120,116

122,270

129,914

7,907

8,475

9,104

7,917

7,979

9,362

Operational risk

21,031

21,031

21,930

156,971

159,755

170,310

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

177,757

164,851

124,489

59,158

66,357

68,990

106,139

103,770

166,523

412,817

417,273

422,647

17,106

26,027

16,842

9,015

-

-

Total assets

781,992

778,278

799,491

Derivatives

 

 

 

(110,204)

(107,160)

(172,658)

35,035

36,382

38,171

1,397

1,903

1,179

44,240

44,292

45,853

(8,980)

(14,340)

(8,943)

(174,148)

(161,688)

(122,252)

Exclusion of bounce back loans

(7,474)

(7,845)

(8,283)

561,858

569,822

572,558

UK leverage ratio (%) (2)

5.8

5.9

6.4

 

(1)

Based on CRR end-point including an IFRS 9 transitional adjustment of £0.6 billion (30 September 2021 - £1.0 billion, 31 December 2020 - £1.7 billion). Excluding this adjustment, the CET1 ratio would be 17.8% (30 September 2021 - 18.1%, 31 December 2020 - 17.5%). The amended article for the prudential treatment of software assets was implemented in December 2020. Excluding this adjustment the CET1 ratio would be 18.0% (30 September 2021 - 18.4%, 31 December 2020 - 18.2%).

(2)

The UK leverage ratio excludes central bank claims from the leverage exposure where deposits held are denominated in the same currency and of contractual maturity that is equal or longer than that of the central bank claims. Excluding an IFRS 9 transitional adjustment, the UK leverage ratio would be 5.7% (30 September 2021 - 5.8%, 31 December 2020 - 6.1%). The amended article for the prudential treatment of software assets was implemented in December 2020. Excluding this adjustment the UK leverage ratio would be 5.7% (30 September 2021 - 5.8%, 31 December 2020 - 6.3%.

 

 

 

Business performance summary

Portfolio summary - segment analysis

The table below shows gross loans and ECL, by segment and stage, within the scope of the IFRS 9 ECL framework.

 

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central

excluding

 

Ulster

 

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

items

Ulster

 

Bank

 

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

RoI

Total

2021

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Loans - amortised cost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  and FVOCI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1

168,013

17,600

82,893

16,185

8,290

32,283

325,264

 

5,560

330,824

Stage 2

13,594

967

17,853

477

147

90

33,128

 

853

33,981

Stage 3

1,884

270

1,820

162

99

 -   

4,235

 

787

5,022

Of which: individual

 -   

270

631

162

91

 -   

1,154

 

61

1,215

Of which: collective

1,884

 -   

1,189

 -   

8

 -   

3,081

 

726

3,807

Subtotal excluding disposal group loans

183,491

18,837

102,566

16,824

8,536

32,373

362,627

 

7,200

369,827

Disposal group loans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,084

9,084

Total 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16,284

378,911

ECL provisions (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1

134

12

116

7

6

17

292

 

10

302

Stage 2 

590

29

758

23

3

11

1,414

 

64

1,478

Stage 3

850

37

651

25

75

 -   

1,638

 

388

2,026

Of which: individual

 -   

37

221

25

67

 -   

350

 

13

363

Of which: collective

850

 -   

430

 -   

8

 -   

1,288

 

375

1,663

Subtotal excluding  ECL provisions on disposal group loans

1,574

78

1,525

55

84

28

3,344

 

462

3,806

ECL on disposal group loans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

109

109

Total 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

571

3,915

ECL provisions coverage (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1 (%)

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

 

0.2

0.1

Stage 2 (%)

4.3

3.0

4.3

4.8

2.0

12.2

4.3

 

7.5

4.4

Stage 3 (%)

45.1

13.7

35.8

15.4

75.8

 -   

38.7

 

49.3

40.3

ECL provisions coverage excluding disposal group loans

0.9

0.4

1.5

0.3

1.0

0.1

0.9

 

6.4

1.0

ECL provisions coverage on disposal group loans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.2

1.2

Total 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.5

1.0

Impairment (releases)/losses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECL (release)/charge (3)

(36)

(54)

(1,073)

(52)

(35)

 -   

(1,250)

 

(28)

(1,278)

Stage 1

(387)

(45)

(818)

(39)

(15)

(3)

(1,307)

 

(70)

(1,377)

Stage 2

157

(15)

(272)

(16)

(11)

3

(154)

 

(33)

(187)

Stage 3

194

6

17

3

(9)

 -   

211

 

75

286

Of which: individual

 -   

6

19

3

(6)

 -   

22

 

(2)

20

Of which: collective

194

 -   

(2)

 -   

(3)

 -   

189

 

77

266

Continuing operations

(36)

(54)

(1,073)

(52)

(35)

 -   

(1,250)

 

(28)

(1,278)

Discontinued operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(57)

(57)

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(85)

(1,335)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amounts written-off 

220

6

467

28

67

 -   

788

 

88

876

Of which: individual

 -   

6

378

28

43

 -   

455

 

 -   

455

Of which: collective

220

 -   

89

 -   

24

 -   

333

 

88

421

 

 

 

Business performance summary

Portfolio summary - segment analysis continued

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central

excluding

 

 

 

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

items

Ulster

 

Ulster Bank

 

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

RoI

Total

2020

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Loans - amortised cost 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  and FVOCI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1

139,956

15,321

70,685

12,143

7,780

26,859

272,744

 

14,380

287,124

Stage 2

32,414

1,939

37,344

2,242

1,566

110

75,615

 

3,302

78,917

Stage 3

1,891

298

2,551

211

171

-

5,122

 

1,236

6,358

Of which: individual

-

298

1,578

211

162

-

2,249

 

43

2,292

Of which: collective

1,891

-

973

-

9

-

2,873

 

1,193

4,066

 

174,261

17,558

110,580

14,596

9,517

26,969

353,481

 

18,918

372,399

ECL provisions (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1

134

31

270

14

12

13

474

 

45

519

Stage 2 

897

68

1,713

74

49

15

2,816

 

265

3,081

Stage 3

806

39

1,069

48

132

-

2,094

 

492

2,586

Of which: individual

-

39

607

48

124

-

818

 

13

831

Of which: collective

806

-

462

-

8

-

1,276

 

479

1,755

 

1,837

138

3,052

136

193

28

5,384

 

802

6,186

ECL provisions coverage (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1 (%)

0.1

0.2

0.4

0.1

0.2

0.1

0.2

 

0.3

0.2

Stage 2 (%)

2.8

3.5

4.6

3.3

3.1

13.6

3.7

 

8.0

3.9

Stage 3 (%)

42.6

13.1

41.9

22.8

77.2

-

40.9

 

39.8

40.7

 

1.1

0.8

2.8

0.9

2.0

0.1

1.5

 

4.2

1.7

Impairment (releases)/losses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECL (release)/charge (3,4)

792

100

1,927

107

40

26

2,992

 

139

3,131

Stage 1

(36)

25

(58)

8

(2)

10

(53)

 

(36)

(89)

Stage 2

619

60

1,667

71

54

15

2,486

 

115

2,601

Stage 3

209

15

318

28

(12)

1

559

 

60

619

Of which: individual

-

15

166

28

(3)

-

206

 

(12)

194

Of which: collective

209

-

152

-

(9)

1

353

 

72

425

Continuing operations

792

100

1,927

107

40

26

2,992

 

139

3,131

Discontinued operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

111

111

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

250

3,242

Amounts written-off 

378

5

321

3

11

-

718

 

219

937

Of which: individual

-

5

172

3

11

-

191

 

-

191

Of which: collective

378

-

149

-

-

-

527

 

219

746

 

(1)

Includes £5 million (2020 - £6 million) related to assets classified as FVOCI.

(2)

ECL provisions coverage is calculated as ECL provisions divided by loans - amortised cost and FVOCI. It is calculated on third party loans and total ECL provisions.

(3)

Includes a £3 million release (2020 - £12 million charge) related to other financial assets, of which £2 million release (2020 - £2 million charge) related to assets classified as FVOCI; and £34 million release (2020 - £28 million charge) related to contingent liabilities.

(4)

Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

(5)

The table shows gross loans only and excludes amounts that are outside the scope of the ECL framework. Refer to the Financial instruments within the scope of the IFRS 9 ECL framework section in the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts for further details. Other financial assets within the scope of the IFRS 9 ECL framework were cash and balances at central banks totalling £176.3 billion (2020 - £122.7 billion) and debt securities of £44.9 billion (2020 - £53.8 billion).

 

 

Analysis of ECL provision

The table below shows gross loans and ECL provision analysis.

 

31 December 2021

30 September 2021

30 June 2021

31 December 2020

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

Total loans

369,827

374,000

375,592

372,399

  Personal

207,380

211,902

209,699

204,188

  Wholesale

162,447

162,098

165,893

168,211

 

 

 

 

 

Value of loans in Stage 2

33,981

41,485

53,188

78,917

  Personal

14,423

14,036

20,414

34,352

  Wholesale

19,558

27,449

32,774

44,565

 

 

 

 

 

ECL provisions in Stage 2

1,478

1,899

2,300

3,081

  Personal

614

716

786

996

  Wholesale

864

1,183

1,514

2,085

 

 

 

 

 

ECL provision coverage in Stage 2

4.35%

4.58%

4.32%

3.90%

  Personal

4.26%

5.09%

3.85%

2.90%

  Wholesale

4.42%

4.31%

4.62%

4.68%

Condensed consolidated income statement for the period ended 31 December 2021

 

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020 (1)

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (1)

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest receivable

9,313

9,798

 

2,345

2,319

2,299

Interest payable

(1,699)

(2,322)

 

(403)

(430)

(398)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest income 

7,614

7,476

 

1,942

1,889

1,901

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fees and commissions receivable

2,698

2,722

 

724

668

650

Fees and commissions payable

(574)

(722)

 

(149)

(140)

(131)

Income from trading activities

323

1,125

 

(3)

95

71

Other operating income

451

(93)

 

108

196

(29)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-interest income

2,898

3,032

 

680

819

561

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total income

10,512

10,508

 

2,622

2,708

2,462

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff costs

(3,676)

(3,878)

 

(915)

(881)

(975)

Premises and equipment

(1,133)

(1,222)

 

(368)

(263)

(320)

Other administrative expenses

(2,026)

(1,845)

 

(735)

(588)

(764)

Depreciation and amortisation

(923)

(913)

 

(310)

(199)

(270)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(7,758)

(7,858)

 

(2,328)

(1,931)

(2,329)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit before impairment losses

2,754

2,650

 

294

777

133

Impairment releases/(losses) 

1,278

(3,131)

 

341

233

(139)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) before tax

4,032

(481)

 

635

1,010

(6)

Tax charge

(996)

(74)

 

(234)

(330)

(75)

Profit/(loss) from continuing operations

3,036

(555)

 

401

680

(81)

Profit from discontinued operations, net of tax

276

121

 

97

64

61

Profit/(loss) for the period

3,312

(434)

 

498

744

(20)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary shareholders

2,950

(753)

 

434

674

(109)

Preference shareholders

19

26

 

5

5

5

Paid-in equity holders

299

355

 

58

63

83

Non-controlling interests

44

(62)

 

1

2

1

Earnings per ordinary share - continuing operations

23.0p

(7.2)p

 

3.0p

5.3p

(1.4)p

Earnings per ordinary share - discontinued operations

2.4p

1.0p

 

0.8p

0.5p

0.5p

Total earnings per share attributable to ordinary 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   shareholders - basic

25.4p

(6.2)p

 

3.8p

5.8p

(0.9)p

Earnings per ordinary share - fully diluted continuing

 

 

 

 

 

 

   operations

22.9p

(7.2)p

 

3.0p

5.3p

(1.4)p

Earnings per ordinary share - fully diluted discontinued

 

 

 

 

 

 

   operations

2.4p

1.0p

 

0.8p

0.5p

0.5p

Total earnings per share attributable to ordinary 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   shareholders - fully diluted

25.3p

(6.2)p

 

3.8p

5.8p

(0.9)p

 

(1)

Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

(2)

The results of discontinued operations, comprising the post-tax profit is shown as a single amount on the face of the income statement. An analysis of this amount is presented in Financial statements note section in NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts on pages 313 to 394.

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the period ended

31 December 2021

 

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Profit/(loss) for the period

3,312

(434)

 

498

744

(20)

Items that do not qualify for reclassification

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remeasurement of retirement benefit schemes (1)

(669)

4

 

71

(6)

(50)

(Loss)/profit on fair value of credit in financial liabilities 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  designated at FVTPL due to own credit risk

(29)

(52)

 

-

(4)

(72)

FVOCI financial assets 

13

(64)

 

2

3

(21)

Tax (1)

164

42

 

(21)

3

29

 

(521)

(70)

 

52

(4)

(114)

Items that do qualify for reclassification

 

 

 

 

 

 

FVOCI financial assets 

(100)

44

 

45

-

81

Cash flow hedges

(848)

271

 

(238)

(245)

(93)

Currency translation

(382)

276

 

(115)

21

(149)

Tax

213

(89)

 

83

65

(4)

 

(1,117)

502

 

(225)

(159)

(165)

Other comprehensive (loss)/income after tax

(1,638)

432

 

(173)

(163)

(279)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the period

1,674

(2)

 

325

581

(299)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary shareholders

1,308

(338)

 

261

512

(389)

Preference shareholders

19

26

 

5

5

5

Paid-in equity holders

299

355

 

58

63

83

Non-controlling interests

48

(45)

 

1

1

2

 

1,674

(2)

 

325

581

(299)

 

(1)      Following the purchase of ordinary shares from UKGI in March 2021, NatWest Group contributed £500 million to its main pension scheme in line with the memorandum of understanding announced on 17 April 2018. After tax relief, this contribution reduced total equity by £365 million. There was also a pre-tax loss of £192 million (€224 million) in relation to the re-measurement of the Group's Republic of Ireland pension schemes, primarily as a result of significant movements in underlying actuarial assumptions (2020: pre-tax gain of £72 million (€81 million)). In line with our policy, the present value of defined benefit obligations and the fair value of plan assets at the end of the reporting period, are assessed to identify significant market fluctuations and one-off events since the end of the prior financial year.

 

 

Condensed consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2021

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2021

2020

£m

£m 

£m 

Assets

 

 

 

177,757

164,851

124,489

59,158

66,357

68,990

106,139

103,770

166,523

2,141

8,140

2,297

7,682

9,251

6,955

358,990

361,022

360,544

46,145

47,000

55,148

6,723

6,723

6,655

8,242

11,164

7,890

Assets of disposal groups

9,015

-

-

781,992

778,278

799,491

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26,279

17,375

20,606

479,810

476,319

431,739

2,068

7,792

5,545

64,598

70,946

72,256

100,835

98,560

160,705

49,326

47,857

45,811

8,429

8,675

9,962

3,047

3,037

2,655

Other liabilities

5,797

5,830

6,388

Total liabilities

740,189

736,391

755,667

 

 

 

Equity

 

 

 

37,412

37,492

38,367

Other owners' interests

4,384

4,384

5,493

41,796

41,876

43,860

Non-controlling interests

7

11

(36)

41,803

41,887

43,824

Total liabilities and equity

781,992

778,278

799,491

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity for the period ended

31 December 2021

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Called-up share capital - at 1 January 

12,129

12,094

 

11,642

11,776

12,127

Ordinary shares issued

37

35

 

-

(1)

2

Share cancellation (1)

(698)

-

 

(174)

(133)

-

At 31 December

11,468

12,129

 

11,468

11,642

12,129

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paid-in equity - at 1 January

4,999

4,058

 

3,890

5,936

4,001

Redeemed

-

(1,277)

 

-

-

-

Reclassified (2) 

(2,046)

-

 

-

(2,046)

 

Securities issued during the period

937

2,218

 

-

-

998

At 31 December

3,890

4,999

 

3,890

3,890

4,999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share premium account - at 1 January

1,111

1,094

 

1,161

1,161

1,110

Ordinary shares issued

50

17

 

-

-

1

At 31 December 

1,161

1,111

 

1,161

1,161

1,111

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merger reserve - at 1 January and 31 December

10,881

10,881

 

10,881

10,881

10,881

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FVOCI reserve  - at 1 January 

360

138

 

237

239

(36)

Unrealised gains/(losses)

32

76

 

97

48

55

Realised (gains)/losses (3)

(122)

152

 

(51)

(48)

367

Tax

(1)

(6)

 

(14)

(2)

(26)

At 31 December

269

360

 

269

237

360

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flow hedging reserve - at 1 January

229

35

 

(254)

(77)

300

Amount recognised in equity 

(687)

321

 

(186)

(178)

(75)

Amount transferred from equity to earnings 

(161)

(50)

 

(52)

(67)

(18)

Tax

224

(77)

 

97

68

22

At 31 December 

(395)

229

 

(395)

(254)

229

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign exchange reserve - at 1 January 

1,608

1,343

 

1,325

1,304

1,758

Retranslation of net assets

(484)

297

 

(173)

25

(155)

Foreign currency gains/(losses) on hedges of net assets 

88

(55)

 

48

(3)

4

Tax

(17)

6

 

(5)

(1)

-

Recycled to profit or loss on disposal of businesses (4)

10

17

 

10

-

1

At 31 December 

1,205

1,608

 

1,205

1,325

1,608

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital redemption reserve - at beginning of period

-

-

 

548

414

-

Share cancellation (1)

698

-

 

174

134

-

Redemption of preference shares

24

-

 

-

-

-

At end of period

722

-

 

722

548

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retained earnings - at 1 January

12,567

13,946

 

12,835

12,632

13,071

Profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders and 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  other equity owners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 - continuing operations

2,992

(493)

 

400

678

(82)

 - discontinued operations

276

121

 

97

64

61

Equity preference dividends paid

(19)

(26)

 

(5)

(5)

(5)

Paid-in equity dividends paid

(299)

(355)

 

(58)

(63)

(83)

Ordinary dividends paid

(693)

-

 

-

(346)

-

Shares repurchased during the year (1,5)

(1,423)

-

 

(387)

(288)

-

Unclaimed dividend

-

2

 

-

-

-

Redemption of preference shares

(24)

-

 

-

-

-

Redemption/reclassification of paid-in equity (2,6)

150

(355)

 

-

150

-

Realised gains/(losses) in period on FVOCI equity shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

  - gross

3

(248)

 

1

3

(362)

  - tax

-

-

 

-

-

27

Remeasurement of the retirement benefit schemes (4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  - gross

(669)

4

 

71

(6)

(50)

  - tax

168

22

 

(16)

2

(7)

 

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity for the period ended

31 December 2021

 

 

Year ended

 

Quarter ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Changes in fair value of credit in financial liabilities 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  designated at FVTPL through profit or loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

  - gross

(29)

(52)

 

-

(4)

(72)

  - tax

3

8

 

-

1

9

Shares issued under employee share schemes

8

(11)

 

8

-

-

Share-based payments (7)

(45)

4

 

20

17

60

At 31 December

12,966

12,567

 

12,966

12,835

12,567

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Own shares held - at 1 January

(24)

(42)

 

(389)

(391)

(24)

Shares issued under employee share schemes

36

95

 

18

1

-

Own shares acquired (1)

(383)

(77)

 

-

1

-

At 31 December

(371)

(24)

 

(371)

(389)

(24)

Owners' equity at 31 December 

41,796

43,860

 

41,796

41,876

43,860

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-controlling interests - at 1 January

(36)

9

 

11

10

(38)

Currency translation adjustments and other movements

4

17

 

-

(1)

1

Profit/(losses) attributable to non-controlling interests

 

 

 

 

 

 

- continuing operations

44

(62)

 

1

2

1

- discontinued operations

-

-

 

-

-

-

Dividends paid

(5)

-

 

(5)

-

-

At 31 December

7

(36)

 

7

11

(36)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total equity at 31 December

41,803

43,824

 

41,803

41,887

43,824

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary shareholders

37,412

38,367

 

37,412

37,492

38,367

Preference shareholders

494

494

 

494

494

494

Paid-in equity holders

3,890

4,999

 

3,890

3,890

4,999

Non-controlling interests

7

(36)

 

7

11

(36)

 

41,803

43,824

 

41,803

41,887

43,824

 

(1)      In March 2021, there was an agreement with HM Treasury to buy 591 million ordinary shares in the Company from UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI), at 190.5p per share for the total consideration of £1.13 billion. NatWest Group cancelled 391 million of the purchased ordinary shares, amounting to £744 million excluding fees, and held the remaining 200 million in own shares held, amounting to £381 million excluding fees. The nominal value of the share cancellation has been transferred to the capital redemption reserve.

(2)      In July 2021, paid-in equity reclassified to liabilities as the result of a call in August 2021 of US$2.65 billion AT1 Capital notes.

(3)      In 2020, the completion of the Alawwal bank merger resulted in the derecognition of the associate investment in Alawwal bank and recognition of a new investment in SABB held at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI).

(4)      Following the purchase of ordinary shares from UKGI in March 2021, NatWest Group contributed £500 million to its main pension scheme in line with the memorandum of understanding announced on 17 April 2018. After tax relief, this contribution reduced total equity by £365 million. There was also a pre-tax loss of £192 million (€224 million) in relation to the re-measurement of the Group's Republic of Ireland pension schemes, primarily as a result of significant movements in underlying actuarial assumptions (2020: pre-tax gain of £72 million (€81 million)). In line with our policy, the present value of defined benefit obligations and the fair value of plan assets at the end of the reporting period, are assessed to identify significant market fluctuations and one-off events since the end of the prior financial year.

(5)      In line with the announcement in July 2021, NatWest Group plc repurchased and cancelled 310.8 million shares for total consideration of £676.2 million excluding fees. Of the 310.8 million shares bought back, 2.8 million shares were settled and cancelled in January 2022. The nominal value of the share cancellations has been transferred to the capital redemption reserve with the share premium element to retained earnings.

(6)      The redemption of paid-in equity includes a tax credit of £16 million.

(7)      Share-based payments includes a tax credit of £10 million.

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated cash flow statement for the period ended 31 December 2021

 

Year ended

 

31 December

31 December

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

Operating activities

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) before tax from continuing operations (1)

4,032

(481)

Operating profit before tax from discontinued operations (1)

279

130

Adjustments for non-cash items 

3,626

2,845

 

 

 

Net cash flows from trading activities

7,937

2,494

Changes in operating assets and liabilities

46,606

26,815

 

 

 

Net cash flows from operating activities before tax

54,543

29,309

Income taxes paid

(856)

(214)

 

 

 

Net cash flows from operating activities

53,687

29,095

Net cash flows from investing activities

3,065

7,547

Net cash flows from financing activities 

(2,604)

90

Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

(2,641)

1,879

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

51,507

38,611

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 

139,199

100,588

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December

190,706

139,199

 

(1)        Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

Notes

1. Presentation of condensed consolidated financial statements

The condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with NatWest Group plc's 2021 Annual Report and Accounts which were prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and IFRS as adopted by the European Union.

 

Going concern

Having reviewed NatWest Group's principal risks, forecasts, projections and other relevant evidence, the directors have a reasonable expectation that NatWest Group will continue in operational existence for a period of twelve months from the date the financial statements are approved. Accordingly, the results for the year ended 31 December 2021 have been prepared on a going concern basis (see the Report of the directors, page 183, NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts).

 

2. Accounting policies

NatWest Group's principal accounting policies are as set out on pages 307 to 312 of the NatWest Group plc's 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Critical accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The judgments and assumptions that are considered to be the most important to the portrayal of NatWest Group's financial condition are those relating to deferred tax, fair value of financial instruments, loan impairment provisions, goodwill and provisions for liabilities and charges. These critical accounting policies and judgments are noted on page 311 of the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts. Estimation uncertainty continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Management's consideration of this source of uncertainty is outlined in the relevant sections of NatWest Group plc's 2021 Annual Report and Accounts, including the ECL estimate for the period in the Risk and capital management section contained in the NatWest Group plc's 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Information used for significant estimates

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause significant economic and social disruption during year ended 31 December 2021. Key financial estimates are based on management's latest five-year revenue and cost forecasts. Measurement of goodwill, deferred tax and expected credit losses are highly sensitive to reasonably possible changes in those anticipated conditions. Other reasonably possible assumptions about the future include a prolonged financial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of the UK and other countries or greater economic effect as countries and companies implement plans to counter climate risks. Changes in judgments and assumptions could result in a material adjustment to those estimates in the next reporting periods. (Refer to the NatWest Group plc Risk factors in the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts).

 

Notes

3. Discontinued operations and assets and liabilities of disposal groups

Two legally binding agreements for the sale of UBIDAC business were announced in 2021 as part of the phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland:

On 28 June 2021 NatWest Group announced it had agreed a binding sale agreement with Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. for the transfer of c.€4.2 billion (plus up to €2.8 billion of undrawn exposures), of performing commercial loans as well as those c.280 colleagues that are wholly or mainly assigned to supporting that part of the business, with the final number of roles to be confirmed as the deal completes. The sale, subject to Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) approval, is expected to be completed in a series of transactions during 2022 and Q1 2023.

On the 17 December 2021 NatWest Group signed a legally binding agreement with Permanent TSB p.l.c.  The proposed sale will include performing non-tracker mortgages, the performing loans in the micro-SME business; the UBIDAC Asset Finance business, including its Lombard digital platform, and a subset of Ulster Bank branch locations in the Republic of Ireland. The majority of loans are expected to transfer by Q4 2022. As part of the transaction it is anticipated that c.450 colleagues will have the right to transfer under the TUPE regulations, with the final number of roles to be confirmed as the deal completes.

The business activities relating to these sales that meet the requirements of IFRS 5 are presented as a discontinued operation and as a disposal group at 31 December 2021. The Ulster Bank RoI operating segment continues to be reported separately and reflects the results and balance sheet position of its continuing operations.

(a) Profit from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

Interest receivable

260

273

 

62

65

70

Net interest income

260

273

 

62

65

70

Non-interest income

9

15

 

4

1

3

Total income

269

288

 

66

66

73

Operating expenses

(47)

(47)

 

(14)

(11)

(12)

Profit before impairment losses

222

241

 

52

55

61

Impairment releases/(losses)

57

(111)

 

45

9

9

Operating profit before tax

279

130

 

97

64

70

Tax charge

(3)

(9)

 

-

-

(9)

Profit from discontinued operations, net of tax

276

121

 

97

64

61

 

(b) Assets and liabilities of disposal groups

 

 

2021

 

 

£m 

Assets of disposal groups

 

 

 

 

 

9,002

 

 

5

Other assets

 

 

8

 

 

9,015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other liabilities

 

 

5

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

Net assets of disposal groups

 

 

9,010

 

(c) Operating cash flows attributable to discontinued operations

 

Year ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2021

2020

Net cash flows from operating activities

1,290

(895)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

1,290

(895)

 

 

Notes

4. Provisions for liabilities and charges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial

 

 

 

Customer

Litigation and

 

commitments

 

 

 

redress (1)

other regulatory

Property

and guarantees

Other (2)

Total

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

At 1 January 2021

749

365

271

178

289

1,852

Expected credit losses impairment 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  release

-

-

-

(83)

-

(83)

Currency translation and other 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  movements

(5)

-

2

(2)

(7)

(12)

Charge to income statement

173

307

113

-

196

789

Release to income statement

(25)

(86)

(118)

-

(82)

(311)

Provisions utilised

(418)

(309)

(37)

-

(203)

(967)

At 31 December 2021

474

277

231

93

193

1,268

 

(1)      Includes payment protection insurance provision which reflects the estimated cost of PPI redress attributable to claims prior to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) complaint deadline of 29 August 2019. All pre-deadline complaints have been processed which removes complaint volume estimation uncertainty from the provision estimate. NatWest Group continues to conclude remaining bank-identified closure work and conclude cases with the Financial Ombudsmen Service.

(2)      Other materially comprises provisions relating to restructuring costs.

(3)      Property provision materially includes dilapidation provisions. Release in property provision includes the effect of purchase of freeholds for properties where the group was the primary leaseholder.

(4)      Majority of charge in the year and utilisation of litigation provisions relates to FCA investigation into money laundering.

 

Provisions are liabilities of uncertain timing or amount and are recognised when there is a present obligation as a result of a past event, the outflow of economic benefit is probable and the outflow can be estimated reliably. Any difference between the final outcome and the amounts provided will affect the reported results in the period when the matter is resolved.

 

5. Litigation and regulatory matters

NatWest Group plc and certain members of NatWest Group are party to legal proceedings and involved in regulatory matters, including as the subject of investigations and other regulatory and governmental action (Matters) in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and other jurisdictions. Note 27 in the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts, issued on 18 February 2022 and available at natwestgroup.com (Note 27), discusses the Matters in which NatWest Group is currently involved and material developments. Other than the Matters discussed in Note 27, no member of NatWest Group is or has been involved in governmental, legal, or regulatory proceedings (including those which are pending or threatened) that are expected to be material, individually or in aggregate. Recent developments in the Matters identified in Note 27 that have occurred since the Q3 2021 Interim Management Statement was issued on 29 October 2021, include, but are not limited to, those set out below.

 

Litigation

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other rates litigation

NWM Plc and certain other members of NatWest Group, including NatWest Group plc, are defendants in several class actions, as well as more than two dozen non-class actions, relating to alleged historical artificial suppression of USD LIBOR, each of which is part of a co-ordinated proceeding in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). In December 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (US Court of Appeals), reversing a December 2016 decision of the SDNY, held that plaintiffs in these cases have adequately alleged the court's personal jurisdiction over NWM Plc and other non-US banks, including with respect to antitrust class action claims on behalf of over-the-counter plaintiffs and exchange-based purchaser plaintiffs. In the same decision, the appellate court affirmed the SDNY's prior decision that plaintiffs who purchased LIBOR-based instruments from third parties (as opposed to the defendants) lack antitrust standing to pursue such claims. The appellate court remanded these matters to the SDNY for further proceedings in light of its rulings.

 

In January 2019, a class action antitrust complaint was filed in the SDNY alleging that the defendants (USD ICE LIBOR panel banks and affiliates) have conspired to suppress USD ICE LIBOR from 2014 to the present by submitting incorrect information to ICE about their borrowing costs. The NatWest Group defendants are NatWest Group plc, NWM Plc, NWMSI and NWB Plc. The defendants made a motion to dismiss this case, which was granted by the court in March 2020. One plaintiff sought to appeal the dismissal, but on 14 February 2022, the US Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal because that plaintiff lacks standing to maintain the appeal.  

 

FX litigation

NWM Plc, NWMSI and / or NatWest Group plc are defendants in several cases relating to NWM Plc's foreign exchange (FX) business. In December 2021, a claim was issued in the Netherlands against NatWest Group plc, NWM Plc and NWM N.V. by Stichting FX Claims, seeking a declaration from the court that anti-competitive FX market conduct described in decisions of the European Commission of 16 May 2019 is unlawful, along with unspecified damages. The claimant has indicated that it may seek to amend its claim to also refer to the December 2021 decision by the EC (described below under "Foreign exchange related investigations"). A hearing is scheduled for June 2022.

 

 

 

Notes

5. Litigation and regulatory matters continued

Spoofing litigation

In December 2021, three substantially similar class actions complaints were filed in federal court in the United States against NWM Plc and NWMSI alleging Commodity Exchange Act and common law unjust enrichment claims arising from manipulative trading known as spoofing. The complaints refer to NWM Plc's December 2021 spoofing-related guilty plea (described below under "US investigations relating to fixed-income securities") and purport to assert claims on behalf of those who transacted in US Treasury securities and futures and options on US Treasury securities between 2008 and 2018. The three complaints are pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

 

Regulatory matters

US investigations relating to fixed-income securities

In December 2021, NWM Plc pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of Connecticut to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud in connection with historical spoofing conduct by former employees in US Treasuries markets between January 2008 and May 2014 and, separately, during approximately three months in 2018. 

 

The 2018 trading occurred during the term of a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) between NWMSI and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut (USAO CT), under which non-prosecution was conditioned on NWMSI and affiliated companies not engaging in criminal conduct during the term of the NPA. The relevant trading in 2018 was conducted by two NWM traders in Singapore and breached that NPA.

 

The plea agreement reached with the US Department of Justice and the USAO CT resolves both the spoofing conduct and the breach of the NPA. 

 

As required by the resolution and sentence imposed by the court, NWM Plc is subject to a three-year period of probation and has paid a US$25.2 million criminal fine, approximately US$2.8 million in criminal forfeiture and approximately US$6.8 million in restitution out of existing provisions. The plea agreement also imposes an independent corporate monitor. In addition, NWM Plc has committed to compliance programme reviews and improvements and agreed to reporting and co-operation obligations.

 

Other material adverse collateral consequences may occur as a result of this matter, as further described in the Risk Factor relating to legal, regulatory and governmental actions and investigations set out on page 425 of the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Foreign exchange related investigations

In recent years, NWM Plc paid significant penalties to resolve investigations into its FX business by the FCA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US Department of Justice, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the European Commission (EC) and others. In December 2021, the EC announced that a settlement had been reached with NatWest Group plc, NWM Plc and other banks in relation to its investigation into past breaches of competition law regarding spot foreign exchange trading. NatWest Group plc and NWM Plc were fined EUR 32.5 million in total relating to conduct that took place between 2011 and 2012. The fine was covered by existing provisions. This concludes the EC's investigations into NatWest Group's past spot foreign exchange trading activity.

FCA investigation into NatWest Group's compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007

Following an FCA investigation, commenced in 2017, into potential breaches of the UK Money Laundering Regulations 2007 ('MLR 2007'), NWB Plc pled guilty in October 2021 to three offences under regulation 45(1) of the MLR 2007 for failure to comply with regulation 8(1) between 7 November 2013 and 23 June 2016, and regulations 8(3) and 14(1) between 8 November 2012 and 23 June 2016. These regulations required the firm to determine, conduct and demonstrate risk sensitive due diligence and ongoing monitoring of its relationships with its customers for the purposes of preventing money laundering. The offences relate to operational weaknesses between 2012 and 2016, during which period NWB Plc did not adequately monitor the accounts of a UK incorporated customer. In December 2021, NWB Plc was fined £264.8 million, incurred a confiscation order and was ordered to pay costs. This was met by NWB Plc from existing provisions, with a small additional provision taken in Q4 2021.

 

Other material adverse collateral consequences may occur as a result of this matter, as further described in the Risk Factor relating to legal, regulatory and governmental actions and investigations set out on page 425 of the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Systematic Anti-Money Laundering Programme assessment

In December 2018, the FCA commenced a Systematic Anti-Money Laundering Programme assessment of NatWest Group. In August 2019, the FCA instructed NatWest Group to appoint a Skilled Person under section 166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to provide assurance on financial crime governance arrangements in relation to two financial crime change programmes. The Skilled Person's final report was received in January 2022.

 


 

Notes

6. Related party transactions

UK Government

The UK Government and bodies controlled or jointly controlled by the UK Government and bodies over which it has significant influence are related parties of NatWest Group. NatWest Group's other transactions with the UK Government include the payment of taxes, principally UK corporation tax and value added tax; national insurance contributions; local authority rates; and regulatory fees and levies (including the bank levy and FSCS levies).

 

Bank of England facilities

In the ordinary course of business, NatWest Group may from time to time access market-wide facilities provided by the Bank of England.

 

Other related parties

(a)  In their roles as providers of finance, NatWest Group companies provide development and other types of capital support to businesses. In some instances, the investment may extend to ownership or control over 20% or more of the voting rights of the investee company.

(b)  NatWest Group recharges The NatWest Group Pension Fund with the cost of administration services incurred by it. The amounts involved are not material to NatWest Group.

 

Full details of NatWest Group's related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2021 are included in the NatWest Group plc 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.  

 

7. Dividends

The company has announced that the directors have recommended a final dividend of £844 million, or 7.5p per ordinary share (2020 - £364 million, or 3.0p) subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2022.

 

If approved, payment will be made on 4 May 2022 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18 March 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 17 March 2022.

 

8. Post balance sheet events

On 27 January 2022, NatWest Group announced that we will create a new franchise, Commercial and Institutional, bringing together our Commercial, NatWest Markets and RBS International businesses to form a single franchise, with common objectives, to best support our customers across the full non-personal customer lifecycle. Our reporting will follow this new structure from Q1 2022.

 

Regulatory calls were announced as a result of the PRA determination that certain instruments can no longer be included as part of Tier 1 capital on a solo and/or consolidated basis after 31 December 2021:

-    On 1 February 2022, NatWest Group plc gave notice of redemption to holders of the USD Series U Non-Cumulative Dollar Preference Shares (ISIN US39057AA62). The notional outstanding of $1,013 billion plus dividends for the current period to, but excluding the redemption date of 31 March 2022 will be paid to noteholders at par.

-    On 1 February 2022, NatWest Group plc gave notice of redemption to holders of the $1,200 billion 7.648% dollar Perpetual Regulatory Tier One Security (ISIN US780097AH44). The notional outstanding of $67.5 million plus interest for the current period will be paid to noteholders at a make whole price calculated at least one business day prior to the redemption date of 3 March 2022.

 

On 11 February 2022, NatWest Group plc gave notice to noteholders of the redemption of its €1.5 billion Fixed to Floating Rate notes due 8 March 2023. The notes will be redeemed on the optional redemption date of 8 March 2022. Payment of principal and accrued interest will be settled upon redemption at par. The call is because the note will cease to be MREL eligible from 8 March 2022.

 

Other than as disclosed in the accounts, there have been no other significant events between 31 December 2021 and the date of approval of these accounts which would require a change or additional disclosure.

 

 

Statement of directors' responsibilities

 

The responsibility statement below has been prepared in connection with NatWest Group's full Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021.

 

We, the directors listed below, confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

 

-

The financial statements, prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and IFRS as adopted by the European Union, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidated taken as a whole; and

-

The Strategic report and Directors' report (incorporating the Business review) include a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

 

By order of the Board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howard Davies

Alison Rose-Slade

Katie Murray

Chairman

Group Chief Executive Officer

Group Chief Financial Officer

 

17 February 2022

 

 

Board of directors

Chairman

Executive directors

Non-executive directors

Howard Davies

Alison Rose-Slade

Katie Murray

 

 

Frank Dangeard

Patrick Flynn

Morten Friis

Robert Gillespie

Yasmin Jetha

Mike Rogers

Mark Seligman

Lena Wilson

 

 

 

Additional information

 

Presentation of information

'Parent company' refers to NatWest Group plc and 'NatWest Group' and 'we' refers to NatWest Group plc and its subsidiary and associated undertakings. The term 'NWH Group' refers to NatWest Holdings Limited ('NWH') and its subsidiary and associated undertakings.  The term 'NWM Group' refers to NatWest Markets Plc ('NWM Plc') and its subsidiary and associated undertakings.  The term 'NWM N.V.' refers to NatWest Markets N.V. The term 'NWMSI' refers to NatWest Markets Securities, Inc. The term 'RBS plc' refers to The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.  The term 'NWB Plc' refers to National Westminster Bank Plc.  The term 'UBIDAC' refers to Ulster Bank Ireland DAC.  The term 'RBSI Holdings Limited' refers to The Royal Bank of Scotland International (Holdings) Limited. 'Go-forward group' excludes Ulster Bank RoI and discontinued operations.

NatWest Group publishes its financial statements in pounds sterling ('£' or 'sterling'). The abbreviations '£m' and '£bn' represent millions and thousands of millions of pounds sterling, respectively, and references to 'pence' represent pence where the amounts are denominated in pounds sterling ('GBP'). Reference to 'dollars' or '$' are to United States of America ('US') dollars. The abbreviations '$m' and '$bn' represent millions and thousands of millions of dollars, respectively. The abbreviation '€' represents the 'euro', and the abbreviations '€m' and '€bn' represent millions and thousands of millions of euros, respectively.

 

Statutory results

Financial information contained in this document does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006 ('the Act'). The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and those for the year ended 31 December 2020 will be filed with the register of companies following the Annual General Meeting. The report of the auditor on those statutory accounts was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Act.

 

Ulster Bank RoI

Continuing operations

Two legally binding agreements for the sale of the UBIDAC business were announced in 2021 as part of the phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland: The sale of commercial lending to Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. (AIB) and the performing non-tracker mortgages, performing micro-SME loans, UBIDAC's asset finance business and 25 of its branch locations to Permanent TSB plc. (PTSB). The business activities relating to these sales that meet the requirements of IFRS 5 are presented as a discontinued operation and as a disposal group on 31 December 2021. The Business performance summary presents the results of the Group's continuing operations. For further details refer to Note 3 on page 34.

 

MAR - Inside Information

This announcement contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information for NatWest Group plc, for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR) as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This announcement is made by Alexander Holcroft, Head of Investor Relations for NatWest Group plc.

 

 

Contacts

Analyst enquiries:

Alexander Holcroft, Investor Relations

+44 (0) 20 7672 1758

Media enquiries:

NatWest Group Press Office

+44 (0) 131 523 4205

 

 

Management presentation

Fixed income presentation

Date: Friday 18 February 2022

Date: Friday 18 February 2022

Time: 9:00 am UK time

Time: 1:00 pm UK time

Zoom registration and dial in: www.natwestgroup.com/results

 

Available on www.natwestgroup.com/results

-

Announcement and slides.

-

2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

-

A financial supplement containing income statement, balance sheet and segment performance for the nine quarters ended 31 December 2021.

-

NatWest Group and NWH Group Pillar 3 Report.

-

Climate-related Disclosures Report 2021.

-

ESG Supplement 2021.

 

 

 

Forward looking statements

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

Certain sections in this document contain 'forward-looking statements' as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements that include the words 'expect', 'estimate', 'project', 'anticipate', 'commit', 'believe', 'should', 'intend', 'will', 'plan', 'could', 'probability', 'risk', 'Value-at-Risk (VaR)', 'target', 'goal', 'objective', 'may', 'endeavour', 'outlook', 'optimistic', 'prospects' and similar expressions or variations on these expressions. In particular, this document includes forward-looking targets and guidance relating to financial performance measures, such as income growth, operating expense, cost reductions, RoTE, ROE, discretionary capital distribution targets, impairment loss rates, balance sheet reduction, including the reduction of RWAs, CET1 ratio (and key drivers of the CET1 ratio including timing, impact and details), Pillar 2 and other regulatory buffer requirements and MREL and non-financial performance measures, such as climate and ESG-related performance ambitions, targets and metrics, including in relation to initiatives to transition to a net zero economy, Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing (CSFF) and financed emissions. In addition, this document includes forward-looking statements relating, but not limited to: the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on NatWest Group; planned cost reductions, disposal losses and strategic costs; implementation of NatWest Group's purpose-led strategy and other strategic priorities (including in relation to: its phased withdrawal from ROI, the NWM Refocusing and investment programmes relating to digital transformation of its operations and services and inorganic opportunities); the timing and outcome of litigation and government and regulatory investigations; direct and on-market buy-backs; funding plans and credit risk profile; managing its capital position; liquidity ratio; portfolios; net interest margin and drivers related thereto; lending and income growth, product share and growth in target segments; impairments and write-downs, including with respect to goodwill; restructuring and remediation costs and charges; NatWest Group's exposure to political risk, economic assumptions and risk, climate, environmental and sustainability risk, operational risk, conduct risk, financial crime risk, cyber, data and IT risk and credit rating risk and to various types of market risk, including interest rate risk, foreign exchange rate risk and commodity and equity price risk; customer experience, including our Net Promotor Score (NPS); employee engagement and gender balance in leadership positions.

Limitations inherent to forward-looking statements

These statements are based on current plans, expectations, estimates, targets and projections, and are subject to significant inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors, both external and relating to NatWest Group's strategy or operations, which may result in NatWest Group being unable to achieve the current plans, expectations, estimates, targets, projections and other anticipated outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, certain of these disclosures are dependent on choices relying on key model characteristics and assumptions and are subject to various limitations, including assumptions and estimates made by management. By their nature, certain of these disclosures are only estimates and, as a result, actual future results, gains or losses could differ materially from those that have been estimated. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date we make them and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

Important factors that could affect the actual outcome of the forward-looking statements

We caution you that a large number of important factors could adversely affect our results or our ability to implement our strategy, cause us to fail to meet our targets, predictions, expectations and other anticipated outcomes or affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements described in this document. These factors include, but are not limited to, those set forth in the risk factors and the other uncertainties described in NatWest Group plc's Annual Report on Form 20-F and its other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The principal risks and uncertainties that could adversely NatWest Group's future results, its financial condition and prospects and cause them to be materially different from what is forecast or expected, include, but are not limited to: economic and political risk (including in respect of: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NatWest Group and its customers; political and economic risks and uncertainty in the UK and global markets; uncertainty regarding the effects of Brexit; changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; and HM Treasury's ownership of NatWest Group plc); strategic risk (including in respect of the implementation of NatWest Group's purpose-led Strategy; refocusing of its NWM franchise; and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on NatWest Group's strategic objectives and targets); financial resilience risk (including in respect of: NatWest Group's ability to meet targets and to make discretionary capital distributions; the competitive environment; impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit quality of NatWest Group's counterparties; counterparty and borrower risk; prudential regulatory requirements for capital and MREL; the adequacy of NatWest Group's resolution plans; liquidity and funding risks; changes in the credit ratings; the requirements of regulatory stress tests; goodwill impairment; model risk; sensitivity to accounting policies, judgments, assumptions and estimates; changes in applicable accounting standards; the value or effectiveness of credit protection; and the application of UK statutory stabilisation or resolution powers); climate and sustainability risk (including in respect of: risks relating to climate change and the transitioning to a net zero economy; the implementation of NatWest Group's climate change strategy and climate change resilient systems, controls and procedures; climate-related data and model risk; the failure to adapt to emerging climate, environmental and sustainability risks and opportunities; changes in ESG ratings; increasing levels of climate, environmental and sustainability related regulation and oversight; and climate, environmental and sustainability-related litigation, enforcement proceedings and investigations); operational and IT resilience risk (including in respect of: operational risks (including reliance on third party suppliers); cyberattacks; the accuracy and effective use of data; complex IT systems (including those that enable remote working); attracting, retaining and developing senior management and skilled personnel; NatWest Group's risk management framework; and reputational risk); and legal, regulatory and conduct risk (including in respect of: the impact of substantial regulation and oversight; compliance with regulatory requirements; the outcome of legal, regulatory and governmental actions and investigations; the transition of LIBOR other IBOR rates to alternative risk-free rates; and changes in tax legislation or failure to generate future taxable profits).

Climate and ESG disclosures

Climate and ESG disclosures in this report use a greater number and level of judgments, assumptions and estimates, including with respect to the classification of climate and sustainable funding and financing activities, than our reporting of historical financial information. These judgments, assumptions and estimates are highly likely to change over time, and, when coupled with the longer time frames used in these disclosures, make any assessment of materiality inherently uncertain. In addition, our climate risk analysis and net zero strategy remain under development, and the data underlying our analysis and strategy remain subject to evolution over time. As a result, we expect that certain climate and ESG disclosures made in this report are likely to be amended, updated, recalculated or restated in the future. This forward-looking statement should be read together with the 'Climate-related and other forward-looking statements and metrics' of the NatWest Group 2021 Climate-related Disclosures Report.

The information, statements and opinions contained in this document do not constitute a public offer under any applicable legislation or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or financial instruments or any advice or recommendation with respect to such securities or other financial instruments.

 

 

Appendix

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

NatWest Group prepares its financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This document contains a number of adjusted or alternative performance measures, also known as non-GAAP or non-IFRS performance measures. These measures are adjusted for notable and other defined items which management believe are not representative of the underlying performance of the business and which distort period-on-period comparison. The non-IFRS measures provide users of the financial statements with a consistent basis for comparing business performance between financial periods and information on elements of performance that are one-off in nature. The non-IFRS measures also include the calculation of metrics that are used throughout the banking industry. These non-IFRS measures are not measures within the scope of IFRS and are not a substitute for IFRS measures.

Non-IFRS financial measures

1. Adjustment for notable items

Go-forward group income excluding notable items is calculated as total income excluding Ulster Bank RoI total income and excluding notable items. UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses total income excluding notable items comprises income in the Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Private Banking and RBS International operating segments excluding notable items.

The exclusion of notable items aims to remove the impact of one-offs which may distort period-on-period comparisons.

Refer to pages 8 and 11 for further details.

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total income (1)

10,512

10,508

 

2,622

2,708

2,462

(228)

(222)

 

(43)

(79)

(58)

Go-forward group income

10,284

10,286

 

2,579

2,629

2,404

(210)

384

 

(62)

(118)

81

10,074

10,670

 

2,517

2,511

2,485

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total income

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Retail Banking

4,445

4,181

 

1,164

1,131

974

   Private Banking

816

763

 

253

195

184

   Commercial Banking

3,875

3,958

 

987

965

951

548

497

 

156

136

126

UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses income

9,684

9,399

 

2,560

2,427

2,235

(64)

87

 

(50)

(4)

84

UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,620

9,486

 

2,510

2,423

2,319

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

(2)      For details of UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses notable items refer to page 11.

 

2. Adjustment for asset disposals/strategic risk reductions and own credit adjustments

NWM total income excluding asset disposals/strategic risk reductions and own credit adjustments (OCA) is calculated as total income of the NWM business less asset disposals/strategic risk reductions and OCA.

This aims to show underlying income generation in NWM excluding the impact of disposal losses and OCA.

Refer to pages 11 and 16 for further details.

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

NWM total income 

415

1,123

 

25

95

73

Less asset disposals/strategic risk reduction

64

83

 

12

12

8

(6)

24

 

(3)

(2)

43

NWM total income excluding asset disposals/ strategic

 

 

 

 

 

 

473

1,230

 

34

105

124

 

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

3. Operating expenses - management view

The management analysis of operating expenses shows strategic costs and litigation and conduct costs in separate lines. Depreciation and amortisation, and other administrative expenses attributable to these costs are included in strategic costs and litigation and conduct costs lines for management analysis. These amounts are included in staff, premises and equipment and other administrative expenses in the statutory analysis.

Other expenses excludes strategic costs and litigation and conduct costs, which are more volatile and may distort comparisons with prior periods.

Refer to pages 11 and 27 for further details.

Non-statutory analysis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year ended

 

31 December 2021

 

31 December 2020 (1)

 

 

Litigation

 

Statutory

 

 

Litigation

 

Statutory

 

Strategic

and conduct

Other

operating

 

Strategic

and conduct

Other

operating

Operating expenses

costs

costs

expenses

expenses

 

costs

costs

expenses

expenses

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff costs

411

-

3,265

3,676

 

462

-

3,416

3,878

Premises and equipment

103

-

1,030

1,133

 

233

-

989

1,222

Other administrative expenses

133

466

1,427

2,026

 

197

113

1,535

1,845

Depreciation and amortisation

140

-

783

923

 

121

-

792

913

Total

787

466

6,505

7,758

 

1,013

113

6,732

7,858

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended

 

 

 

31 December 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Litigation

 

Statutory

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic

and conduct

Other

operating

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

costs

costs

expenses

expenses

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff costs

 

 

 

 

 

122

-

793

915

Premises and equipment

 

 

 

 

 

73

-

295

368

Other administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 

65

190

480

735

Depreciation and amortisation

 

 

 

 

 

118

-

192

310

Total

 

 

 

 

 

378

190

1,760

2,328

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 September 2021 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Litigation

 

Statutory

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic

and conduct

Other

operating

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

costs

costs

expenses

expenses

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff costs

 

 

 

 

 

74

-

807

881

Premises and equipment

 

 

 

 

 

(2)

-

265

263

Other administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 

4

294

290

588

Depreciation and amortisation

 

 

 

 

 

1

-

198

199

Total

 

 

 

 

 

77

294

1,560

1,931

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31 December 2020 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Litigation

 

Statutory

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic

and conduct

Other

operating

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

costs

costs

expenses

expenses

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff costs

 

 

 

 

 

147

-

828

975

Premises and equipment

 

 

 

 

 

63

-

257

320

Other administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 

54

194

516

764

Depreciation and amortisation

 

 

 

 

 

62

-

208

270

Total

 

 

 

 

 

326

194

1,809

2,329

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

4. Other expenses excluding operating lease depreciation (OLD) and Ulster Bank RoI direct costs

Our cost target for 2021 is based on this measure and we track progress against this.

Refer to page 4 for further details.

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020 (1)

 

2021

2021 (1)

2020 (1)

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

7,758

7,858

 

2,328

1,931

2,329

Less strategic costs

(787)

(1,013)

 

(378)

(77)

(326)

(466)

(113)

 

(190)

(294)

(194)

Other expenses

6,505

6,732

 

1,760

1,560

1,809

(140)

(145)

 

(34)

(36)

(35)

Other expenses excluding OLD

6,365

6,587

 

1,726

1,524

1,774

Less Ulster Bank RoI direct costs

(273)

(239)

 

(69)

(64)

(58)

Other expenses excluding OLD and Ulster

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,092

6,348

 

1,657

1,460

1,716

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

5. Cost:income ratio

The cost:income ratio is calculated as total operating expenses less OLD divided by total income less OLD.

This is a common metric used to compare profitability across the banking industry.

Refer to pages 8, 12 to 16 and 19 to 23 for further details.

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central

excluding

 

 

 

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

items

Ulster

 

Ulster 

 NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

Year ended 31 December 2021

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(2,513)

(520)

(2,354)

(242)

(1,161)

(486)

(7,276)

 

(482)

(7,758)

Operating lease depreciation 

-

-

140

-

-

-

140

 

-

140

Adjusted operating expenses

(2,513)

(520)

(2,214)

(242)

(1,161)

(486)

(7,136)

 

(482)

(7,618)

Total income

4,445

816

3,875

548

415

185

10,284

 

228

10,512

Operating lease depreciation 

-

-

(140)

-

-

-

(140)

 

-

(140)

Adjusted total income

4,445

816

3,735

548

415

185

10,144

 

228

10,372

Cost:income ratio

56.5%

63.7%

59.3%

44.2%

279.8%

nm

70.3%

 

nm

73.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year ended 31 December 2020 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(2,540)

(455)

(2,430)

(291)

(1,310)

(391)

(7,417)

 

(441)

(7,858)

Operating lease depreciation 

-

-

145

-

-

-

145

 

-

145

Adjusted operating expenses

(2,540)

(455)

(2,285)

(291)

(1,310)

(391)

(7,272)

 

(441)

(7,713)

Total income

4,181

763

3,958

497

1,123

(236)

10,286

 

222

10,508

Operating lease depreciation 

-

-

(145)

-

-

-

(145)

 

-

(145)

Adjusted total income

4,181

763

3,813

497

1,123

(236)

10,141

 

222

10,363

Cost:income ratio

60.8%

59.6%

59.9%

58.6%

116.7%

nm

71.7%

 

nm

74.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

5. Cost:income ratio continued

 

Go-forward group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central

excluding

 

 

 

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

items

Ulster

 

Ulster

 NatWest

 

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

& other

Bank RoI

 

Bank RoI

Group

Quarter ended 31 December 2021

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(774)

(155)

(646)

(70)

(343)

(209)

(2,197)

 

(131)

(2,328)

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

34

-

-

-

34

 

-

34

Adjusted operating expenses

(774)

(155)

(612)

(70)

(343)

(209)

(2,163)

 

(131)

(2,294)

Total income

1,164

253

987

156

25

(6)

2,579

 

43

2,622

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

(34)

-

-

-

(34)

 

-

(34)

Adjusted total income

1,164

253

953

156

25

(6)

2,545

 

43

2,588

Cost:income ratio 

66.5%

61.3%

64.2%

44.9%

nm

nm

85.0%

 

nm

88.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended 30 September 2021 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(552)

(116)

(556)

(60)

(258)

(277)

(1,819)

 

(112)

(1,931)

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

36

-

-

-

36

 

-

36

Adjusted operating expenses

(552)

(116)

(520)

(60)

(258)

(277)

(1,783)

 

(112)

(1,895)

Total income

1,131

195

965

136

95

107

2,629

 

79

2,708

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

(36)

-

-

-

(36)

 

-

(36)

Adjusted total income

1,131

195

929

136

95

107

2,593

 

79

2,672

Cost:income ratio 

48.8%

59.5%

56.0%

44.1%

271.6%

nm

68.8%

 

nm

70.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended 31 December 2020 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

(818)

(91)

(656)

(112)

(301)

(248)

(2,226)

 

(103)

(2,329)

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

35

-

-

-

35

 

-

35

Adjusted operating expenses

(818)

(91)

(621)

(112)

(301)

(248)

(2,191)

 

(103)

(2,294)

Total income

974

184

951

126

73

96

2,404

 

58

2,462

Operating lease depreciation

-

-

(35)

-

-

-

(35)

 

-

(35)

Adjusted total income

974

184

916

126

73

96

2,369

 

58

2,427

Cost:income ratio 

84.0%

49.5%

67.8%

88.9%

nm

nm

92.5%

 

nm

94.5%

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

 

 

6. NatWest Group return on tangible equity

Return on tangible equity comprises annualised profit or loss for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by average tangible equity. Average tangible equity is average total equity excluding non-controlling interests (NCI) less average intangible assets and average other owners' equity.

Go-forward group return on tangible equity is calculated as annualised profit or loss for the period less Ulster Bank RoI loss from continuing operations and less profit from discontinued operations divided by go-forward group total tangible equity.

This measure shows the return NatWest Group generates on tangible equity deployed. It is used to determine relative performance of banks and used widely across the sector.

Refer to pages 2, 8 and 19 to 23 for further details.

 

Year ended or as at

 

Quarter ended or as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

NatWest Group return on tangible equity 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

Profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders (£m)

2,950

(753)

 

434

674

(109)

 

 

 

1,736

2,696

(436)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average total equity (£m)

42,727

43,774

 

41,887

42,507

43,648

(11,395)

(11,872)

 

(10,719)

(10,881)

(11,895)

31,332

31,902

 

31,168

31,626

31,753

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.4%

(2.4%)

 

5.6%

8.5%

(1.4%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go-forward group return on tangible equity 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders (£m)

2,950

(753)

 

434

674

(109)

Less Ulster Bank RoI loss from continuing operations (£m)

255

495

 

73

26

171

Less profit from discontinued operations (£m)

(276)

(121)

 

(97)

(64)

(61)

Go-forward group profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders (£m)

2,929

(379)

 

410

636

1

Annualised go-forward group profit/(loss) attributable 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,640

2,544

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average total equity (£m)

42,727

43,774

 

41,887

42,507

43,648

Adjustment  for other owners equity and intangibles (£m)

(11,395)

(11,872)

 

(10,719)

(10,881)

(11,895)

Adjusted total tangible equity (£m)

31,332

31,902

 

31,168

31,626

31,753

Go-forward group RWAe applying factor (%)

93%

93%

 

93%

93%

93%

Go-forward group total tangible equity (£m)

29,139

29,669

 

28,986

29,412

29,530

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.0%

(1.3%)

 

5.6%

8.6%

nm

 

7. Segmental return on equity

Segmental return on equity comprises segmental operating profit or loss, adjusted for preference share dividends and tax, divided by average notional tangible equity, allocated at an operating segment specific rate of the period average segmental risk- weighted assets, incorporating the effect of capital deductions (RWAes).

This measure shows the return generated by operating segments on equity deployed.

Refer to pages 12 to 16 and 19 to 23 for further details.

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Year ended 31 December 2021

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

Operating profit/(loss) (£m)

1,968

350

2,594

358

(711)

Preference share cost allocation (£m)

(79)

(21)

(154)

(20)

(63)

Adjustment for tax  (£m)

(529)

(92)

(683)

(59)

217

Adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

1,360

237

1,757

279

(557)

Average RWAe (£bn)

36.0

11.2

69.5

7.8

28.4

Equity factor

14.5%

12.5%

11.5%

16.0%

15.0%

RWAe applying equity factor (£bn)

5.2

1.4

8.0

1.2

4.3

Return on equity 

26.1%

17.0%

22.0%

22.5%

(13.1%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year ended 31 December 2020 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) (£m)

849

208

(399)

99

(227)

Preference share cost allocation (£m)

(88)

(22)

(153)

(20)

(68)

Adjustment for tax (£m)

(213)

(52)

155

(11)

83

Adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

548

134

(397)

68

(212)

Average RWAe (£bn)

37.2

10.4

76.4

7.0

37.3

Equity factor

14.5%

12.5%

11.5%

16.0%

15.0%

RWAe applying equity factor (£bn)

5.4

1.3

8.8

1.1

5.6

Return on equity

10.2%

10.3%

(4.5%)

6.1%

(3.8%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

7. Segmental return on equity continued

 

 

Retail

Private

Commercial

RBS

NatWest

Quarter ended 31 December 2021

Banking

Banking

Banking

International

Markets

Operating profit/(loss) (£m)

385

110

630

98

(302)

Preference share cost allocation (£m)

(20)

(5)

(38)

(5)

(16)

Adjustment for tax (£m)

(102)

(29)

(166)

(16)

89

Adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

263

76

426

77

(229)

Annualised adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

1,052

304

1,704

308

(916)

Average RWAe (£bn)

36.9

11.3

66.3

8.0

27.2

Equity factor

14.5%

12.5%

11.5%

16.0%

15.0%

RWAe applying equity factor (£bn)

5.3

1.4

7.6

1.3

4.1

Return on equity

19.7%

21.3%

22.4%

24.0%

(22.5%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended 30 September 2021

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) (£m)

563

94

625

87

(160)

Preference share cost allocation (£m)

(20)

(5)

(38)

(5)

(16)

Adjustment for tax (£m)

(152)

(25)

(164)

(14)

49

Adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

391

64

423

68

(127)

Annualised adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

1,564

256

1,692

272

(508)

Average RWAe (£bn)

36.1

11.3

67.6

7.8

27.9

Equity factor

14.5%

12.5%

11.5%

16.0%

15.0%

RWAe applying equity factor (£bn)

5.2

1.4

7.8

1.3

4.2

Return on equity

29.9%

18.1%

21.7%

21.6%

(12.1%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended 31 December 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) (£m)

91

67

285

(13)

(230)

Preference share cost allocation (£m)

(22)

(5)

(38)

(5)

(17)

Adjustment for tax (£m)

(19)

(17)

(69)

3

69

Adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

50

45

178

(15)

(178)

Annualised adjusted attributable profit/(loss) (£m)

200

180

712

(60)

(712)

Average RWAe (£bn)

36.1

10.7

75.9

7.1

31.5

Equity factor

14.5%

12.5%

11.5%

16.0%

15.0%

RWAe applying equity factor (£bn)

5.2

1.3

8.7

1.1

4.7

Return on equity

3.8%

13.3%

8.1%

(5.5%)

(15.0%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Tangible equity

Tangible equity is ordinary shareholders' interest less intangible assets. TNAV per ordinary share is calculated as tangible equity divided by the number of ordinary shares in issue.

This is a measure used by external analysts in valuing the bank and the starting point for calculating regulatory capital.

Refer to pages 9, 10 and 24 for further details.

 

Year ended or as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

2021

2020

Ordinary shareholders' interests (£m)

37,412

38,367

Less intangible assets (£m)

(6,723)

(6,655)

Tangible equity (£m)

30,689

31,712

 

 

 

Ordinary shares in issue (millions)

11,272

12,129

 

 

 

TNAV per ordinary share (pence)

272p

261p

 

 

 

9. Net interest margin

Bank net interest margin is defined as net interest income of the banking business of the Go-forward group less NatWest Markets (NWM) element and excluding liquid asset buffer, as a percentage of bank average interest-earning assets. Bank average interest earning assets are the average interest earning assets of the banking business of the Go-forward group less NWM element and excluding liquid asset buffer.

The exclusion of the NWM element aims to eliminate the impact of distorting volatility in NWM.

The term Go-forward group excludes Ulster Bank RoI and discontinued operations. The exclusion of the discontinued element from the average interest earning assets aims to align the basis of calculation with prior periods.

Liquid asset buffer consists of assets held by NatWest Group, such as cash and balances at central banks and debt securities in issue, that can be used to ensure repayment of financial obligations as they fall due.

The exclusion of liquid asset buffer has been introduced as a way to present net interest margin on a basis more comparable with UK peers and exclude the impact of regulatory driven factors.

Refer to pages 2, 8 and 10 for further details.

 

Year ended or as at 

 

Quarter ended or as at

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

 

£m

£m

£m

Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

NatWest Group net interest income (1)

7,614

7,476

 

1,942

1,889

1,901

Less NWM net interest income

(9)

57

 

(13)

1

2

Less Ulster Bank RoI net interest income

(100)

(122)

 

(23)

(23)

(31)

Bank net interest income

7,505

7,411

 

1,906

1,867

1,872

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualised NatWest Group net interest income 

 

 

 

7,705

7,494

7,563

Annualised Bank net interest income

 

 

 

7,562

7,407

7,447

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average interest earning assets (IEA)

524,886

483,719

 

551,577

527,886

499,793

Less NWM average IEA

(32,730)

(37,929)

 

(33,718)

(32,497)

(36,515)

Less Ulster Bank RoI average IEA

(15,854)

(16,600)

 

(15,018)

(15,701)

(17,040)

Less liquid asset buffer average IEA (1)

(162,195)

(127,945)

 

(184,730)

(164,897)

(140,491)

Bank average IEA

314,107

301,245

 

318,111

314,791

305,747

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bank net interest margin 

2.39%

2.46%

 

2.38%

2.35%

2.44%

 

(1)      Comparative results have been re-presented from those previously published to reclassify certain operations as discontinued operations as described in Note 3 on page 34.

 

 

 

Non-IFRS financial measures

10. Net lending

NatWest Group net lending is calculated as total loans to customers less loan impairment provisions.

Go-forward group net lending is calculated as net loans to customers less Ulster Bank RoI net loans to customers.

UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses net lending excluding UK Government support schemes comprises customer loans in the Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Private Banking and RBS International operating segments, excluding UK Government support schemes.

This is the basis of our lending target for our key retail and commercial businesses.

Refer to pages 2 ,5, 9 and 10 for further details.

 

As at

 

31 December

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

£bn

£bn

Total loans to customers (amortised cost)

362.8

366.5

Less loan impairment provisions

(3.8)

(6.0)

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

359.0

360.5

Less Ulster Bank RoI net loans to customers (amortised cost)

(6.7)

(18.0)

Go-forward group net lending

352.3

342.5

 

 

 

Net loans to customers (amortised cost)

 

 

   Retail Banking

182.2

172.3

   Private Banking

18.4

17.0

   Commercial Banking

101.2

108.2

   RBS International

15.5

13.3

UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses net loans to customers (amortised cost)

317.3

310.8

Less UK Government support schemes

(11.6)

(12.9)

Total UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses

 

 

   net lending excluding UK Government support schemes

305.7

297.9

 

11. Customer deposits

Go-forward group customer deposits is calculated as total customer deposits less Ulster Bank RoI customer deposits.

UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses customer deposits comprises customer deposits in the Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Private Banking and RBS International operating segments.

This metric is used to show underlying deposit movements across our key retail and commercial businesses.

Refer to pages 2, 9 and 10 for further details.

 

As at

 

31 December

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

£bn

£bn

Total customer deposits

479.8

431.7

Less Ulster Bank RoI customer deposits

(18.4)

(19.6)

Go-forward group customer deposits

461.4

412.1

 

 

 

Retail Banking

188.9

171.8

Private Banking

39.3

32.4

Commercial Banking

177.7

167.7

RBS International

37.5

31.3

Total UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses customer deposits

443.4

403.2

 

12. Total operating profit before tax including discontinued operations

Given the current progress of the phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland, UB RoI results are currently presented in both continuing and discontinued operations. Including operating profit before tax from discontinued operations provides a complete view of the NatWest Group operating profit in 2021.

 

Refer to page 4 for further details.

 

Year ended 

 

Quarter ended 

 

31 December

31 December

 

31 December

30 September

31 December

2021

2020

 

2021

2021

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit/(loss) before tax

4,032

(481)

 

635

1,010

(6)

279

130

 

97

64

70

4,311

(351)

 

732

1,074

64

 

 

Performance metrics not defined under IFRS

Metrics based on GAAP measures, included as not defined under IFRS and reported for compliance with ESMA adjusted performance measure rules.

1. Loan:deposit ratio

Loan:deposit ratio is calculated as net customer loans held at amortised cost divided by total customer deposits.

This is a common metric used among peers to assess liquidity.

Refer to page 9 for further details.

 

As at

 

31 December

31 December

 

2021

2020

 

£m

£m

Loans to customers - amortised cost 

358,990

360,544

Customer deposits 

479,810

431,739

Loan:deposit ratio (%)

75%

84%

 

2. Loan impairment rate

Loan impairment rate is the annualised loan impairment charge divided by gross customer loans.

Refer to pages 8, 12 to 15 and 19 to 23 for further details.

3. Funded assets

Funded assets is calculated as total assets less derivative assets.

This measure allows review of balance sheet trends exclusive of the volatility associated with derivative fair values. 

Refer to pages 9, 16 and 19 to 23 for further details.

4. AUMAs

AUMA comprises both assets under management (AUMs) and assets under administration (AUAs) serviced through the Private Banking franchise. AUMs comprise assets where the investment management is undertaken by Private Banking on behalf of Private Banking, Retail Banking and RBSI customers. AUAs comprise third party assets held on an execution-only basis in custody by Private Banking, Retail Banking and RBSI for their customers accordingly, for which the execution services are supported by Private Banking. Private Banking receives a fee for providing investment management and execution services to Retail Banking and RBSI franchises.

Private Banking is the Centre of Expertise for asset management across NatWest Group servicing all client segments across Retail, Premier and Private Banking.

Refer to pages 9 and 13 for further details.

5. Depositary assets

Assets held by RBSI as an independent trustee and in a depositary service capacity.

Depositary assets are a closely monitored KPI for the RBS International business and its inclusion in commentary highlights the services that RBS International provides.

Refer to page 15 for further details.

6. Wholesale funding

Wholesale funding comprises deposits by banks, debt securities in issue and subordinated liabilities.

This is a closely monitored metric used across the banking industry to ensure capital requirements are being met.

Refer to pages 9 and 10 for further details.

 

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