London, March 6, 2026, 09:40 GMT
- NatWest bought back 891,842 shares on March 5 as part of its ongoing buyback programme.
- The bank said it intends to cancel the shares, cutting down the number in circulation.
- These buys come after a beefed-up 2025 profit outlook and as the company leans harder into wealth management.
NatWest Group picked up 891,842 ordinary shares on March 5, extending its daily buybacks under the ongoing share repurchase programme. The activity, disclosed via the London market’s regulatory news service, adds to a string of recent purchases. 1
This matters: buybacks remain a primary tool for major banks looking to hand excess capital back to shareholders, particularly as fresh annual results typically shape payout expectations for the coming year.
They’re cutting the share count, too, which gives earnings per share a boost even when profits stall — a number investors track closely as rates drift and growth stays uneven.
NatWest disclosed that on March 5 it bought shares from UBS across several trading venues, paying volume-weighted average prices near 592 to 593 pence apiece. 1
The bank plans to cancel the shares it bought back. Once the deal wraps up, treasury stock will stand at 217,669,499 shares, with 7,972,562,496 shares remaining in issue, not counting those held in treasury. 1
NatWest picked up another 458,962 shares the previous day, again from UBS, with the volume-weighted average price coming in near 591 to 592 pence, a separate regulatory filing showed. 2
Last month, NatWest outlined the wider buyback initiative as it posted a 24% jump in 2025 pretax profit and boosted a major profitability benchmark. “We are raising our ambition and sharpening our strategic focus,” CEO Paul Thwaite said back then. 3
The lender is making a push into wealth management, locking in a £2.7 billion deal for Evelyn Partners in February—debt included. That move, it said, will trim its core equity tier 1 capital ratio by roughly 130 basis points. 4
Benjamin Toms at RBC Capital Markets described the Evelyn transaction as “transformational,” arguing it plugs NatWest’s hole in the affluent wealth segment. Still, Toms admitted the pricing caught him off guard, considering NatWest is typically known for sticking closely to its spending limits. 4
But buybacks can easily stall. If the economy sours, credit losses climb, or a sizable acquisition triggers tougher capital requirements, banks may hit the brakes on repurchases to shore up their buffers.
NatWest isn’t the only bank relying on capital returns to maintain investor confidence. Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group kicked off a £1.75 billion buyback with its annual results. CEO Charlie Nunn cited “continued business momentum” after the bank raised its outlook. 5
