NatWest has announced that profits declined from £107 million in the last quarter of 2023 to £82 million in the first three months of the year.

Total income was also down by £97 million to £327 million compared to £424 million recorded in the previous quarter.

The bank blamed lower income on a profit share arrangement with NatWest Group subsidiaries whereby the full-year 2023 amount of £177 million was recognised in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with £45 million in the current quarter.

NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite said that while macroeconomic uncertainty remains, both customer confidence and activity is “improving”, with the bank seeing lending and deposits up during the quarter and lower impairments.

“NatWest Group has delivered a strong set of results for the first quarter - with an operating profit of £1.3 billion - as we remain focused on the priorities we set out in February, which will help us shape the future of this bank,” continued Thwaite.

Earlier this year, the chief executive announced plans to focus on disciplined growth, improving bank-wide simplification, and deploying capital efficiently whilst maintaining strong risk management to drive strong capital generation.

Thwaite took over from previous NatWest boss Alison Rose in February.

Rose stepped down after admitting she gave inaccurate information to the BBC about the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account.

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