LONDON, April 25, 2026, 20:40 BST
- NatWest has disclosed another round of share buybacks for cancellation in its most recent filing.
- First-quarter numbers land May 1 for the bank. Margins, bad-debt provisions, and capital returns are what investors are watching.
- Barclays, Lloyds, and Standard Chartered all report earlier in the week, giving investors an early look at UK bank profit momentum.
NatWest Group Plc plans to cancel shares acquired through its buyback program after wrapping up another week of repurchases. This move comes with capital returns in mind, just ahead of the British bank’s first-quarter earnings. According to a Friday filing, UBS AG, London Branch handled purchases between April 20 and April 24, with prices falling between 575.6 pence and 613 pence. Once these settle, NatWest said it will have 7.974 billion ordinary shares outstanding, excluding those held in treasury.
Timing comes into play here. NatWest is set to release Q1 2026 results at 7 a.m. BST on May 1, with management stepping up for a presentation at 9 a.m. It’ll be the year’s first clear shot for investors to gauge if the bank can keep growth, margins, and buybacks on track.
NatWest Investor Relations’ consensus, drawn from analyst estimates as of April 20, has first-quarter net interest income pegged at £3.41 billion. Total income lands at £4.31 billion, with operating profit before tax seen at £1.94 billion. For Q1, the consensus figure for net interest margin stands at 2.47%.
NatWest kicked off the year backed by solid earnings. The bank posted a 2025 operating pretax profit of £7.7 billion, with return on tangible equity hitting 19.2%—a key gauge for profitability. Its CET1 ratio, the regulatory capital yardstick, came in at 14.0%. For 2025, total distributions announced stood at £4.1 billion: £1.5 billion in buybacks and £2.6 billion via dividends.
This latest share buyback comes on the heels of a £750 million program revealed when NatWest outlined plans to acquire Evelyn Partners. Back in February, NatWest pegged the £2.7 billion deal as a move to establish the UK’s top private banking and wealth management business—forecasting a roughly 20% bump in fee income before any revenue synergies, and a hit to its CET1 ratio of about 130 basis points. The bank also flagged that investors should expect its next buyback update with first-half 2027 results.
Peer banks don’t give much time to breathe. Barclays kicks things off with first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Lloyds Banking Group follows Wednesday, and Standard Chartered lands on Thursday. NatWest wraps the week for UK lenders on Friday, as per the latest earnings calendar.
Russ Mould over at AJ Bell flagged on Friday that the FTSE 350 Banks sector looks to be “starting to lose a little momentum” after its extended run. The five major UK lenders, he said, might be in for a “steady rather than spectacular start” to 2026. Impairment provisions are the catch: AJ Bell highlighted analyst forecasts for £2.6 billion in Q1 charges across Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Standard Chartered, up from roughly £2 billion last year. Geopolitical worries and stalled rate cuts keep the pressure on borrowers. AJ Bell
NatWest hasn’t given itself much of a cushion. Back in February, the bank put out targets for 2026: income between £17.2 billion and £17.6 billion, other operating costs pegged near £8.2 billion, and a return on tangible equity topping 17%. There’s also the longer-range return on tangible equity goal—above 18% by 2028.
NatWest closed Friday in London at 579.4 pence, off 0.9%, market data from ADVFN showed. Investors now look to next week’s update for more than the usual quarterly details—it’s a test of whether the buyback narrative still lines up with the earnings protection they’re banking on.
