NatWest's chief executive Paul Thwaite has called on the Labour government to demonstrate greater ambition in its approach to economic growth, in an apparent critique of the recent Budget. Speaking after the bank reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, Thwaite said that any credible growth strategy must extend beyond fiscal consolidation. He emphasised that turning economic resilience into momentum would require sustained commitment across tax, spending, planning and regulation. His comments came as the bank sector faced new tax measures, including a doubling of the bank surcharge to 6 per cent and a temporary increase in the windfall tax, limited to 15 months, expected to raise the Treasury £1.5billion.
Thwaite pointed to next year's Spending Review and Prime Minister Andy Burnham's ten-year national renewal plan as potentially more significant than any single Budget in shaping the UK's economic direction. His remarks echo concerns raised a day earlier by Lloyds finance chief William Chalmers, who described additional taxes on banks as unhelpful for achieving growth and international competitiveness. However, Thwaite appeared relatively unbothered by the tax changes, noting that the windfall tax outcome, lower than the expected 8 per cent, provided welcome clarity. He stated that the bank would continue to run operations in the interests of all stakeholders while remaining competitive and delivering shareholder returns.
NatWest reported an operating pre-tax profit of £2.2billion for the three months to September, roughly 2 per cent higher than the same period in 2025. The bank generated approximately £3.6billion in net interest income, a jump of nearly 9 per cent year-on-year, reflecting the benefits of higher interest rates. The bank has pursued simplification and technology investment, with cost savings of around £420million helping to reduce its cost-to-income ratio to 45.7 per cent for the year-to-date. The group reduced full-time staff by about 1,000 in the quarter, totalling 1,400 job losses this year, though the acquisition of wealth manager Evelyn Partners added around 2,200 employees.
The bank highlighted investment in technology tools, including trials of spending insights helpers and fraud detection agents for credit card customers. Thwaite noted broad-based growth across customer franchises, with lending, deposits and assets under management all increasing during the quarter. For UK savers and borrowers, the bank's stronger profitability alongside higher deposit income reflects the current high-interest-rate environment, though the government's additional tax burden on financial institutions may eventually influence lending and deposit rates.