NatWest cuts 1,000 jobs in quarter as profit hits £1.5bn

NatWest Group, the banking group registered in Edinburgh with its head office at Gogarburn, cut around 1,000 full-time roles in the three months to September as it reported a third-quarter profit of £1.5bn on 30 October.

The NatWest results show the parent of Royal Bank of Scotland has made a net reduction of 1,400 posts this year through what it calls ongoing transformation, separate from the staff it gained by buying wealth manager Evelyn Partners.

The NatWest results in figures

Profit attributable to shareholders was £1.53bn in the quarter, 4.1% lower than a year earlier, while total income rose 7.1% to £4.64bn. Over the first nine months of 2026, attributable profit climbed 11.8% to £4.57bn. Charges set aside for loans that may not be repaid rose to £277m, from £153m a year before.

The bank said gross cost savings of around £420m had helped cut the share of its income spent on running the business to 45.7% for the year so far. It is putting money into simpler systems and technology, including an AI spending insights tool now on trial and an AI agent, already live, that sorts fraud queries for credit card customers.

Headcount fell by around 1,000 full-time equivalent posts in the quarter. Across the year it is up by about 800, because the Evelyn Partners deal, completed on 30 June, brought in around 2,200 staff.

Paul Thwaite, chief executive, said: “Our strategy is consistently delivering sector-leading growth and returns, with a Return on Tangible Equity of 20.2% for the year to date, supported by greater income diversification, disciplined cost management and strong capital generation.”

The group stood by the outlook it gave with its half-year figures.

“As we help more customers to save and invest, buy a home or expand their businesses, we continue to see broad-based growth in our three customer franchises, with lending, deposits and assets under management all increasing during the quarter.”

Paul Thwaite, Chief Executive, NatWest Group

Gogarburn and the Edinburgh connection

The group was called The Royal Bank of Scotland Group until July 2020 and its registered office remains at 36 St Andrew Square. It lists its Gogarburn campus on Glasgow Road as its head office. NatWest has not said how this year’s job reductions are split between its sites.

The NatWest results also showed lending and savings growing in all three of its customer businesses. In retail banking, mortgages rose by £1.2bn and deposits by £3.1bn in the quarter. The bank also passed its 2026 target for lending to first-time buyers, with more than £10bn lent.

In its commercial and institutional arm, net lending to customers grew by £6.7bn and deposits by £3bn. Account openings by start-ups were 8% higher than a year earlier and the bank said it was expanding its Accelerator network for entrepreneurs.

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Sources: NatWest Group Q3 2026 Interim Management Statement, RNS, 30 October 2026; NatWest Group Form 6-K filing of the Q3 2026 statement, 30 October 2026; NatWest Group FAQs, registered office and head office