Good morning. Natwest swung back into profit as it released cash it had been holding to protect itself from bad loans during the pandemic. The lender smashed expectations of £1.8bn to record £2.5bn of operating profit in its latest half-year. That compares to a loss of £770m the previous year after it released £707m it had been holding to cover unpaid loans from customers during the worst of the pandemic.
NatWest said that it was releasing the money after its economic outlook improved, and outlined plans for a £750m share buyback in the second half of the year. The bank will also pay a 3p dividend for the first-half of the financial year, totalling £347m, £150m of which will go to its majority shareholder, the Government.
Chief executive Alison Rose said: “These results have been driven by good operating performances across the group, underpinned by a robust loan book and a strong capital position.”
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 is slump when markets open, driven lower by China’s continued crackdown on the private sector. Despite US markets notching up new record highs amid…
