LONDON, March 20, 2026, 16:57 GMT
NatWest Group Plc shares slumped 8% to 533.6 pence on Thursday after trading ex-dividend, as a wider retreat in UK bank stocks pressured the London-listed lender. Banks dragged the FTSE 100 lower, shedding 4.3% for the day.
This isn’t just about the dividend. NatWest’s final payout is set at 23 pence a share—anyone buying from Thursday misses out. Take that out of the price, and shares still slid roughly 4.2%. That’s more than just a calendar quirk; there’s genuine selling going on.
Markets shifted their bets on UK rates after the Bank of England left its main rate unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday, cautioning that inflation remains a bigger threat than weak growth. J.P. Morgan followed up on Friday, penciling in quarter-point hikes for both April and July. Inflation, not economic slowdown, is now “the more important battle” for policymakers, according to Nick Saunders, chief executive of Webull UK. Reuters
Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC took hits as well. According to City AM, NatWest shares plunged over 8% to 530.2p during intraday trading. Lloyds slid more than 4%, Barclays over 5%. Reuters noted HSBC dropped 3.1% after Bloomberg flagged the lender was weighing as many as 20,000 job cuts.
“Next to no buying interest of note,” summed up Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, as NatWest’s shares stumbled further after going ex-dividend. The drop got little support from buyers. Over at Swissquote, senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya pointed out that the war is looking more intense, not less, leaving “risks to equities” sitting firmly on the downside. City AM
Just weeks ago, NatWest struck a very different tone. The bank posted a 24% jump in 2025 pretax profit to 7.7 billion pounds, bumped its 2028 return on tangible equity target above 18%, and set out a 750 million-pound share buyback for the first half of 2026.
Just days ahead of reporting results, NatWest struck a deal to acquire Evelyn Partners, a wealth manager, for 2.7 billion pounds—marking its largest transaction since the 2008 bailout. Back in February, chief executive Paul Thwaite declared the bank was “raising our ambition,” with a renewed focus on boosting its presence in wealth and private banking. Reuters
NatWest joined Barclays and Lloyds in raising medium-term targets, a move that earlier this year kept UK banking stocks powering London’s gains. On Thursday, though, shares tumbled—proof that the trade unravels fast when sentiment pivots to oil, inflation, and rates.
NatWest faces a clear risk here: rising energy prices could cement bets on further Bank of England rate hikes, dampening both loan appetite and investor sentiment for UK banks. Flip the scenario, though—a swift drop in oil or a rapid calming in the Middle East—and the narrative shifts. Suddenly, attention swings back to buybacks, dividends, and NatWest’s pledge for stronger returns, still fresh from last month.
NatWest has set March 20 as the record date for its 23 pence final dividend, with a payout slated for May 5—pending shareholder sign-off at the April 28 AGM. Investors eyeing that dividend are also contending with a notably tougher macro environment versus what the bank saw in its February earnings.
