PRESS RELEASE

from NatWest Markets Plc (isin : XS2745115837)

NatWest Markets Plc Annual Results 2025

NatWest Markets Plc / Key word(s): Annual Results
NatWest Markets Plc Annual Results 2025

13.02.2026 / 08:00 CET/CEST


NatWest Markets Group (NWM Group)

Results for the year ended 31 December 2025

Financial review RBSFinance

NWM Group reported a profit for the year ended 31 December 2025 of £275 million compared with a profit of £63 million for the year ended 31 December 2024. Higher income largely reflected a stronger performance in the Currencies and Capital Markets business lines. Operating expenses increased in 2025, as a decrease in litigation and conduct costs was more than offset by a rise in other operating expenses.

Highlights

Financial performance

  • Income of £1,471 million in 2025 was up by £234 million compared with £1,237 million in 2024. The increase was largely driven by stronger performances in Currencies and Capital Markets, higher income from the profit share arrangement with fellow NatWest Group subsidiaries, one-off gains recognised in 2025 and lower foreign exchange (FX) reserves recycling losses. These increases were partially offset by lower revenues from Fixed Income.
  • Operating expenses of £1,308 million increased by £100 million compared with £1,208 million in 2024. Litigation and conduct costs of £63 million reflected ongoing progress in closing legacy matters, including any associated conduct remediation activity, and were down by £39 million compared with £102 million in 2024. Other operating expenses of £1,245 million were £139 million higher than £1,106 million in 2024, largely driven by increases in technology investment costs and staff costs, lower VAT recoveries and a credit recognised in 2024 in relation to property charges.
  • Total assets and total liabilities both decreased by £14.8 billion to £168.4 billion and £161.4 billion respectively at 31 December 2025, compared with the prior year. Derivative assets were down by £17.2 billion, largely reflecting FX volatility across major currencies including the weakening of USD in 2025, following contrasting trends in Q4 2024, and variations in interest rates across different currencies and tenors. Funded assets were up by £2.4 billion, mainly driven by increases in loans to customers and other financial assets.

Capital and leverage

  • Total NWM Plc RWAs were £21.5 billion at 31 December 2025, compared with £20.8 billion at 31 December 2024. The increase in 2025 was mainly driven by higher credit risk, primarily reflecting growth in lending, and an increase in operational risk RWAs following the annual recalculation, including an acceleration from Q1 2026 to align with market practice. These increases were partially offset by a reduction in market risk which reflected active risk management.
  • NWM Plc’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 18.4% at 31 December 2025, compared with 18.2% at 31 December 2024. The increase in the year was largely driven by higher CET1 capital, partially offset by the increase in RWAs.
  • Total Minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) for NWM Plc at 31 December 2025 was £9.8 billion, compared with £10.0 billion at 31 December 2024. The decrease in total MREL in 2025 was largely due to a reduction in eligible capital, driven by the redemption of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital notes with NatWest Group plc of $1.15 billion, partially offset by the issuance of two new AT1 instruments with NatWest Group plc amounting to £600 million. In addition, senior unsecured debt reduced by £0.1 billion during 2025, largely due to the maturity of an internal MREL instrument with NatWest Group plc of $1.15 billion, and the impact of FX movements, partially offset by two new internal MREL instruments with NatWest Group plc of €580 million and £490 million respectively. The MREL ratio decreased to 45.6% of RWAs at 31 December 2025, compared with 48.2% at 31 December 2024, mainly reflecting the increase in RWAs.
  • NWM Plc’s leverage ratio was 5.0% at 31 December 2025 compared with 5.5% at 31 December 2024. The decrease in 2025 reflected lower Tier 1 capital and higher leverage exposure. The increase in leverage exposure was driven by increases in other financial assets and net derivatives, partially offset by a decrease in trading assets.

Liquidity and funding

  • NWM Plc’s average liquidity coverage ratio (LCR)(1) increased to 198% (31 December 2024 - 192%), largely reflecting higher average levels in the liquidity portfolio during the year. The liquidity portfolio at 31 December 2025 was £20.2 billion, down by £0.8 billion compared with £21.0 billion at 31 December 2024. Stressed outflow coverage(2) was 165% at 31 December 2025, compared with 179% at 31 December 2024.
  • NWM Plc issued a total of £7.9 billion across a number of public benchmark transactions during 2025. This includes prefinancing of 2026 funding requirements, taking advantage of favourable market conditions. These transactions comprised €3.6 billion and CHF0.2 billion of notes under our Euro Medium Term Note programme, $4.8 billion of notes under our US Medium Term Note programme and AUD2.0 billion of notes under our AUD debt issuance programme. NWM Plc also raised funding in other formats throughout 2025 including, but not limited to, structured note issuance.
  • On 13 January 2026, NWM Plc issued a total of €1.0 billion of benchmark notes under the EMTN programme.
  1. Reported on an average basis in line with supervisory guidelines. The LCR is calculated as the average of the preceding 12 months.
  2. NWM Plc’s Stressed Outflow Coverage (SOC) is an internal measure calculated by reference to liquid assets as a percentage of net stressed contractual and behavioural outflows over three months. The most severe outcome is selected from a range of scenarios comprised of market-wide, idiosyncratic and a combination of both. This assessment is performed in accordance with PRA guidance. The average SOC is calculated as the average of the preceding 12 months.

Capital guidance (1,2)

Metric (3)Estimate
CET1 ratio~14%
MREL ratio (4)>30%
Leverage ratio>4%

 

  1. This supersedes all prior guidance.
  2. This guidance, targets, expectations and trends discussed in this section represent management’s current medium-term expectations and are subject to change, including as a result of the factors described in the Risk Factors section on pages 151 to 168 NatWest Markets Plc 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. These statements constitute forward-looking statements. Refer to Forward-looking statements in this announcement.
  3. All metrics presented relate to NWM Plc.
  4. Includes total regulatory capital, non-eligible capital and downstreamed internal MREL.
 

Business performance summary

The table below presents an analysis of key lines of NWM Group’s income statement. Commentary refers to the table below as well as the consolidated income statement shown on page 5.

  Year ended   Quarter ended    31 December  31 December   31 December 30 September 31 December   2025 2024   2025 2025 2024 Income statement  £m £m   £m £m £m Net interest income 488 432   135 109 85 Non-interest income 983 805   248 217 218 Total income 1,471 1,237   383 326 303 Litigation and conduct costs (63) (102)   (24) 26 (41) Other operating expenses (1,245) (1,106)   (348) (295) (321) Operating expenses (1,308) (1,208)   (372) (269) (362) Operating profit/(loss) before impairment                losses/releases 163 29   11 57 (59) Impairment (losses)/releases (3) 8   (2) (4) - Operating profit/(loss) before tax 160 37   9 53 (59) Tax credit 115 26   51 73 19 Profit/(loss) for the period 275 63   60 126 (40)           Income (1)         Fixed Income 135 190   7 23 20 Currencies 632 525   147 158 146 Capital Markets 749 666   190 189 164 Capital Management Unit and other (2) 17 (49)   45 (30) (11) Income including shared revenue before OCA 1,533 1,332   389 340 319 Transfer pricing arrangements with fellow               NatWest Group subsidiaries (3) (63) (86)   (4) (14) (12) Income excluding OCA 1,470 1,246   385 326 307 Own credit adjustments (OCA) 1 (9)   (2) - (4) Total income 1,471 1,237   383 326 303

 

  1. Product performance includes gross income earned on a NatWest Group-wide basis, including amounts contributed to other NatWest Group subsidiaries. Income including shared revenue before OCA includes revenue share from other NatWest Group subsidiaries but before revenue share is paid to or contributed to those subsidiaries.
  2. Capital Management Unit was set up in Q3 2020 to manage capital usage and optimisation across all parts of NatWest Markets, with the income materially relating to legacy positions.
  3. Transfer pricing arrangements with fellow NatWest Group subsidiaries includes shared revenue paid to or contributed to those subsidiaries and a profit share arrangement with fellow NatWest Group subsidiaries. The profit share arrangement rewards NWM Group on an arm’s length basis for its contribution to the performance of the NatWest Group Commercial & Institutional business segment. The profit share is not allocated to individual NatWest Markets product areas.

Year ended 31 December 2025 performance

  • Net interest income largely represents interest income from lending activity and capital hedges, offset by interest expense from the funding costs of the business. The increase of £56 million compared with 2024 largely reflects growth in lending activity within Capital Markets.
  • Non-interest income increased by £178 million in 2025. This rise was largely driven by a stronger performance in Currencies, which reflected the successful navigation of volatile market conditions, and higher income in Capital Management Unit and other, driven by one-off gains recognised in 2025 including a dividend received on the restructuring of a strategic investment, and lower FX reserves recycling losses. In addition, the amount recognised under the profit share arrangement with fellow NatWest Group subsidiaries of £189 million was £43 million higher than the amount recognised in 2024. These increases were partially offset by lower revenues in Fixed Income, which reflected challenging market conditions and reduced client activity.
  • Operating expenses were up by £100 million compared with 2024. Litigation and conduct costs reflected ongoing progress in closing legacy matters, including associated conduct remediation activity, and were down by £39 million compared with 2024. Other operating expenses increased by £139 million compared with 2024, largely due to increases in technology investment costs and staff costs, lower VAT recoveries and a credit recognised in 2024 in relation to property charges, partially offset by a reduction in severance costs.
  • The tax credit of £115 million on the operating profit before tax of £160 million differs from the expected UK corporation tax rate of 25%, primarily due to a revision in our estimate of deductible costs in current and prior periods and a write-back of the deferred tax held on NWM N.V. losses.

Q4 2025 performance

  • Net interest income increased by £26 million compared with Q3 2025 and by £50 million compared with Q4 2024, largely reflecting higher interest expense in the comparative periods from funding of the trading business.
  • Non-interest income increased by £31 million compared with Q3 2025 and by £30 million compared with Q4 2024. These increases were largely due to a dividend received on the restructuring of a strategic investment in Q4 2025, and FX reserves recycling losses of £30 million recognised in each of the comparative periods. In addition, NWM Group recognised £63 million under the profit share arrangement with fellow NatWest Group subsidiaries in Q4 2025, which was £16 million and £17 million higher than the amounts recognised in Q3 2025 and Q4 2024 respectively. These increases were partially offset by lower trading income in the current quarter.
  • Operating expenses increased by £103 million compared with Q3 2025 and by £10 million compared with Q4 2024. Litigation and conduct costs were up by £50 million compared with Q3 2025 and down by £17 million compared with Q4 2024, reflecting ongoing progress on closing legacy matters, including any associated conduct remediation activity. Other operating expenses increased by £53 million compared with Q3 2025, largely due to one-off costs recognised in the current quarter including the annual bank levy, in addition to the non-repeat of VAT recoveries recognised in Q3 2025, partially offset by lower staff costs. Other operating expenses increased by £27 million compared with Q4 2024, largely due to higher technology investment costs and staff costs.

 

 

Business performance summary

Balance sheet profile as at 31 December 2025

NWM Group’s balance sheet profile is summarised below. Commentary refers to the tables below as well as the consolidated balance sheet on page 6.

Assets Liabilities
 20252024 20252024 
 £bn£bn £bn£bn 
Cash and balances at central banks16.016.2   
  Securities12.613.9 7.510.5   Short positions
  Reverse repos (1)27.727.1 28.630.6   Repos (2)
  Derivative cash collateral posted (3)5.67.3 11.812.3   Derivative cash collateral received (4)
  Other trading assets0.30.6 0.91.1   Other trading liabilities
Total trading assets46.248.9 48.854.5 Total trading liabilities
Loans - amortised cost24.719.1 15.79.4 Deposits - amortised cost
Settlement balances0.62.0 0.91.7 Settlement balances
Amounts due from holding company     Amounts due to holding company 
  and fellow subsidiaries0.30.3 6.16.8   and fellow subsidiaries
Other financial assets19.117.9 35.531.3 Other financial liabilities
Other assets0.60.7 0.40.5 Other liabilities
Funded assets107.5105.1 107.4104.2 Liabilities excluding derivatives
Derivative assets60.978.1 54.072.0 Derivative liabilities 
Total assets168.4183.2 161.4176.2 Total liabilities
     of which:
   36.232.5 Wholesale funding (5)
   14.416.8 Short-term wholesale funding (5)
Net derivative assets2.32.4 2.53.5 Net derivative liabilities

 

  1. Comprises bank reverse repos of £4.6 billion (2024 - £5.9 billion) and customer reverse repos of £23.1 billion (2024 - £21.2 billion).
  2. Comprises bank repos of £8.2 billion (2024- £7.2 billion) and customer repos of £20.4 billion (2024 - £23.4 billion).
  3. Comprises derivative cash collateral posted relating to banks of £2.6 billion (2024 - £3.6 billion) and customers of £3.0 billion (2024 - £3.7 billion).
  4. Comprises derivative cash collateral received relating to banks of £4.1 billion (2024 - £5.3 billion) and customers of £7.7 billion (2024 - £7.0 billion).
  5. Predominantly comprises bank deposits (excluding repos), debt securities in issue and third-party subordinated liabilities.
  • Total assets and total liabilities both decreased by £14.8 billion at 31 December 2025, compared with the prior year, mainly driven by a decrease in derivative fair values which reflected FX rate volatility across major currencies and variations in interest rates across different currencies and tenors. Funded assets, which exclude derivatives, increased by £2.4 billion, largely driven by higher loans at amortised cost and other financial assets.
  • Trading assets which primarily relate to client-led activity as well as derivative cash collateral posted, were down by £2.7 billion, driven by decreases in derivative cash collateral posted and securities, partially offset by an increase in reverse repos.
  • Trading liabilities decreased by £5.7 billion, driven by lower short positions, repos and derivative cash collateral received.
  • Loans – amortised cost increased by £5.6 billion, driven by higher loans to customers reflecting growth in Capital Markets.
  • Other financial assets were up by £1.2 billion, largely driven by an increase in bonds held in the liquid asset buffer.
  • Deposits – amortised cost increased by £6.3 billion, driven by higher bank deposits reflecting increased repo funding and an increase in customer deposits in NWM N.V.
  • Other financial liabilities increased by £4.2 billion, largely driven by new issuance partially offset by maturities. The balance as at 31 December 2025 includes £27.2 billion of medium-term notes issued.
  • Derivative assets and derivative liabilities were down by £17.2 billion and £18.0 billion respectively. The decreases in fair values largely reflected FX volatility across major currencies including the weakening of USD in the year, following contrasting trends in Q4 2024, and variations in interest rates across different currencies and tenors.

Non-IFRS measures

This document contains a number of non-IFRS measures. For details of the basis of preparation and reconciliations, where applicable, refer to the non-IFRS measures section on page 13.

 

Capital, liquidity and funding risk

Introduction

NWM Group takes a comprehensive approach to the management of capital, liquidity and funding, underpinned by frameworks, risk appetite and policies, to manage and mitigate capital, liquidity and funding risks. The framework ensures the tools and capability are in place to facilitate the management and mitigation of risk ensuring that NWM Group operates within its regulatory requirements and risk appetite.

Capital, RWAs and leverage

Capital resources, RWAs and leverage for NWM Plc are set out below and have been calculated in line with the PRA rulebook, subject to the requirements set out in the UK CRR. Regulatory capital is monitored and reported at legal entity level for large subsidiaries of NatWest Group.

  31 December 30 September 31 December   2025 2025 2024 Capital adequacy ratios (1,2) % % % CET1 18.4 17.5 18.2 Tier 1 23.0 22.0 24.3 Total 26.0 25.0 27.8 Total MREL 45.6 46.1 48.2         Capital (1,2) £m £m £m CET1 3,952 3,801 3,779 Tier 1 4,926 4,776 5,067 Total 5,576 5,425 5,779 Total MREL (3) 9,787 10,001 10,038         Risk-weighted assets       Credit risk 10,447 9,896 8,908 Counterparty credit risk 5,868 5,907 5,797 Market risk 3,431 4,528 5,105 Operational risk 1,711 1,347 1,002 Total RWAs 21,457 21,678 20,812
  1. NWM Plc’s total capital ratio requirement is 11.4%, comprising the minimum capital requirement of 8%, supplemented with the capital conservation buffer of 2.5% and the institution specific countercyclical buffer (CCyB) of 0.9%. The minimum CET1 ratio is 7.9%, including the minimum capital requirement of 4.5%. The CCyB is based on the weighted average of NWM Plc’s geographical exposures.
  2. In addition, NWM Plc is subject to Pillar 2A requirements for CET1, AT1 and T2. Refer to the NWM Plc Pillar 3 report for further details on these additional capital requirements.
  3. Includes senior debt instruments issued to NatWest Group plc with a nominal value of £4.2 billion (30 September 2025 - £4.6 billion, 31 December 2024 - £4.3 billion).
  4. The IFRS 9 transitional capital rules in respect to ECL provisions ceased to apply on 1 January 2025.

Leverage

The leverage ratio has been calculated in accordance with the Leverage Ratio (CRR) part of the PRA rulebook.

 31 December30 September31 December
 202520252024
Tier 1 capital (£m)4,9264,7765,067
Leverage exposure (£m) (1)97,880106,00692,859
Leverage ratio (%) 5.04.55.5
  1. Leverage exposure is broadly aligned to the accounting value of on and off-balance sheet exposures albeit subject to specific adjustments for derivatives, securities financing positions and off-balance sheet exposures.

 

Liquidity and funding

  31 December 30 September 31 December   2025 2025 2024 Average LCR (%) 198 196 192 Liquidity portfolio (£bn) 20.2 19.0 21.0 Total wholesale funding (£bn) (1) 36.2 36.4 32.5 Total funding including repo (£bn) 98.4 106.3 91.4
  1. Predominantly comprises bank deposits (excluding repos), debt securities in issue and third-party subordinated liabilities.

 

 

 

Consolidated income statement

for the period ended 31 December 2025

 Year ended Quarter ended
 31 December31 December 31 December30 September31 December
 20252024 202520252024
 £m£m £m£m£m
Interest receivable2,5852,720 648649665
Interest payable (2,097)(2,288) (513)(540)(580)
Net interest income 488432 13510985
Fees and commissions receivable 417476 9494102
Fees and commissions payable(188)(213) (45)(41)(47)
Income from trading activities658585 86181157
Other operating income 96(43) 113(17)6
Non-interest income983805 248217218
Total income1,4711,237 383326303
Staff costs(506)(452) (113)(128)(99)
Premises and equipment(79)(75) (21)(22)(20)
Other administrative expenses(711)(671) (235)(116)(240)
Depreciation and amortisation(12)(10) (3)(3)(3)
Operating expenses(1,308)(1,208) (372)(269)(362)
Operating profit/(loss) before impairment       
   losses/releases16329 1157(59)
Impairment (losses)/releases(3)8 (2)(4)-
Operating profit/(loss) before tax16037 953(59)
Tax credit11526 517319
Profit/(loss) for the period27563 60126(40)
       
Attributable to:      
Ordinary shareholders167(20) 37104(63)
Paid-in equity holders10873 232222
Non-controlling interests-10 --1
 27563 60126(40)

 

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

for the period ended 31 December 2025

 Year ended Quarter ended
 31 December31 December 31 December30 September31 December
 20252024 202520252024
 £m£m £m£m£m
Profit/(loss) for the period27563 60126(40)
Items that do not qualify for reclassification      
Remeasurement of retirement benefit schemes5(13) 8-(9)
Changes in fair value of financial liabilities designated       
  at fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL)(17)(33) (6)(10)(8)
Fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) financial assets314 (12)21
Tax(8)23 (8)(1)7
 (17)(9) (18)(9)(9)
Items that do qualify for reclassification      
FVOCI financial assets 165 1151
Cash flow hedges (1)127(29) 35(9)(54)
Currency translation23(14) (4)90113
Tax(46)16 (15)-16
 120(22) 278676
Other comprehensive income/(loss) after tax103(31) 97767
Total comprehensive income for the period37832 6920327
       
Attributable to:      
Ordinary shareholders270(50) 461815
Paid-in equity holders10873 232222
Non-controlling interests-9 ---
 37832 6920327

 

  1. Refer to footnotes 1 and 2 of the statement of changes in equity.

 

Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2025

 31 December30 September31 December
 202520252024
 £m £m£m 
Assets   
Cash and balances at central banks16,02317,06616,229
Trading assets46,17456,76548,883
Derivatives60,86661,30478,105
Settlement balances64312,1412,043
Loans to banks - amortised cost1,2211,8261,171
Loans to customers - amortised cost23,45421,73217,921
Amounts due from holding companies and fellow subsidiaries287393343
Other financial assets19,08417,47517,850
Other assets619567621
Total assets168,371189,269183,166
    
Liabilities   
Bank deposits8,5019,5624,565
Customer deposits7,1618,6194,840
Amounts due to holding companies and fellow subsidiaries6,0687,1466,771
Settlement balances9329,0741,729
Trading liabilities48,84758,31754,512
Derivatives53,97754,16072,036
Other financial liabilities35,45335,07031,263
Other liabilities469415521
Total liabilities161,408182,363176,237
    
Equity   
Owners' equity6,9636,9066,929
Total equity6,9636,9066,929
Total liabilities and equity168,371189,269183,166

 

 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

for the period ended 31 December 2025

 Year ended Quarter ended
 31 December31 December 31 December30 September31 December
 20252024 202520252024
 £m£m £m£m£m
Called up share capital - at beginning and end of period400400 400400400
     
Share premium account - at beginning and end of period1,9461,946 1,9461,9461,946
     
Paid-in equity - at beginning of period1,496904 1,1922,096904
Redeemed(904)- -(904)-
Issued600592 --592
At end of period1,1921,496 1,1921,1921,496
     
Merger reserve - at beginning of period(11)(14) (9)(10)(12)
Amortisation33 111
At end of period(8)<
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