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☆ NatWest profit jumps 20% as Thwaite confirmed as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of NatWest, a retail unit of RBS, outside a bank branch in London, U.K., on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. British bank NatWest confirmed Paul Thwaite as its permanent chief executive on Friday and reported forecast-beating profit for 2023, as it gears up for a crunch sale of state-owned stock in the company after a scandal-hit year. The taxpayer-backed lender reported pre-tax profit of 6.2 billion pounds ($7.81 billion) for the 12-month period, up 20% on 5.1 billion pounds the prior year and ahead of a 5.95 billion pounds average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. NatWest also announced a final dividend of 11.5 pence per share and a share buyback of 300 million pounds. NatWest set aside 578 million pounds for potential soured loans, up from 337 million pounds the prior year - but the figure came in below analyst forecasts.

Persons: Paul Thwaite, Thwaite, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Rose, Peter Flavel Organizations: NatWest, RBS, Brexit Party Locations: London

☆ HSBC CEO on Farage-Coutts spat: 'We do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC's U.K. headquarters are seen at the Canary Wharf financial district of London on July 31, 2018. Although refusing to discuss details of other banks and their clients, HSBC boss Quinn told CNBC on Tuesday that "our policy is not to de-bank or exit a client based on their lawful personal views." "We also have a responsibility as an institution to look at any areas of financial crime compliance or we have an obligation to collect information on KYC (Know Your Customer), so we have those competing obligations but to reiterate, as a policy we do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views." The closure of Farage's account triggered a heated debate in the U.K. and rocked the domestic banking industry. NatWest CEO Alison Rose was forced to resign, after she admitted discussing details of Farage's Coutts account with a BBC reporter in the wake of his allegations.

Persons: Tolga Akmen, Noel Quinn, Coutts, Nigel Farage's, Farage, Coutts —, —, Quinn, Alison Rose, Farage's Coutts, Peter Flavel, Rishi Sunak, Jonathan Bachman Organizations: AFP, Getty, LONDON, HSBC, Trump, NatWest Group, CNBC, NatWest, BBC, Brexit Party, UKIP Locations: London, U.K

☆ NatWest reports profit rise amid fallout from Farage fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A sign outside a NatWest Group Plc bank branch in the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Natwest is due to report first-half results on Friday, July 28. NatWest reported pre-tax profit of £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) for the period, compared to £2.6 billion the prior year and above the £3.3 billion average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. NatWest remains under pressure over the Farage scandal. NatWest is nearly 40% taxpayer-owned following its bailout during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, adding more weight to the government's position.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Coutts, Rose, Peter Flavel, Paul Thwaite, Howard Davies, Thwaite Organizations: NatWest Group, City of, Natwest, Bloomberg, Getty, NatWest, BBC, Reuters, Rivals Barclays, Lloyds, Barclays Locations: City, City of London, Britain

[1/2] A man walks past ATM machines at branch of the NatWest bank in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. Davies said he intended to stay at the bank for now and confirmed for the first time on Friday that political pressure had played a part in Rose's exit. "The political reaction to retaining Alison as CEO was such that her position was untenable," he told reporters. NatWest reported pre-tax profit of 3.6 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) for the period, compared to 2.6 billion pounds the prior year and above the 3.3 billion pound average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. NatWest booked a 233 million pounds charge for potential loan defaults - compared to the release of 54 million pounds last year - and lowered its net interest margin forecast for the year to below 3.2%, with an expectation of it hitting 3.15%.

Persons: Phil Noble, Davies, Nigel Farage's, Rose, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Peter Flavel, Alison, We've, NatWest's, Paul Thwaite, Thwaite, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NatWest, REUTERS, Rose NatWest, BBC, Reuters, Rivals Barclays, Lloyds, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, Britain's, Rose's

Davies said he intended to stay on at the bank for now - after also facing calls to resign - and confirmed for the first time that political pressure forced the board's hand in Rose's exit. "The political reaction to that was such... that her position was then untenable," he told reporters. Britain's finance ministry said the decision for Rose to depart was made by her and the bank's board. "The NatWest board is responsible for the bank's strategic and operational management," a Treasury spokesperson said. ($1 = 0.7820 pounds)Reporting by Iain Withers and Lawrence White, editing by Sinead Cruise and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Davies, Nigel Farage's, Rose, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Peter Flavel, We've, Alison, Travers Smith, Paul Thwaite, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NatWest, Rose NatWest, BBC, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain's, Rose's, Britain

"The culture wars are coming to UK businesses, including the financial sector," said Andre Spicer, dean of City University's Bayes Business School. It also cited "risk factors including... controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank's purpose". However, data from watchdog the Financial Ombudsman Service showed complaints about account closures represented a tiny fraction of a bank's overall customer base. Experts say other banks will now be scrambling to ensure their own policies and committees are behaving appropriately, to avoid further scandals. The CEO of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds said on Wednesday the bank's own policies did not include looking at customers' political or personal beliefs.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Coutts, Andre Spicer, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Rose, Peter Flavel, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Spicer, Harriet Baldwin, Bill Winters, Samuel Gregg, Banks, Gregg, University's Spicer, Rupert Younger, ", Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Brexit Party, NatWest, Bayes Business School, Coutts, Treasury, Bank of England, BBC, Standard Chartered, Farage, American Institute for Economic Research, Facebook, Financial, Service, Barclays, Lloyds, Centre, Oxford University's Said Business School, Thomson Locations: America

The ousting of Flavel is one of the first actions taken by NatWest's interim CEO Paul Thwaite, after the group's former CEO Alison Rose quit on Wednesday over the same matter. NatWest has faced intense scrutiny over the decision by Coutts to sever ties with Farage. An internal review obtained by the politician-turned-TV show host showed Coutts' wealth reputational risk committee had said his values did not align with the bank's own. Australian-born Flavel, who previously served as CEO of JPMorgan Private Wealth Management in Asia Pacific region, took the top job at Coutts in 2016. Mohammad Kamal Syed will step into the role of interim CEO of Coutts and NatWest's wealth businesses, Thwaite said, adding that Flavel was stepping down by "mutual consent".

Persons: Coutts, Peter Flavel, Nigel Farage's, Flavel, Paul Thwaite, Alison Rose, Rose, she'd, Farage, Howard Davies, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Mohammad Kamal Syed, Thwaite, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Lawrence White Organizations: NatWest, BBC, Reuters, JPMorgan Private Wealth Management, Thomson Locations: Asia Pacific

☆ NatWest CEO resigns after admitting to 'serious error' over Nigel Farage leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

NatWest CEO Alison Rose on Wednesday stepped down with immediate effect after she admitted a "serious error of judgment" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a senior BBC journalist. The board appointed Paul Thwaite to helm NatWest for an initial period of 12 months, the company said in a statement. "The board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group," Howard Davies, chairman of the board, said. Coutts' website advises its clients should be able to borrow or invest at least 1 million pounds with the bank or hold 3 million pounds in savings. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had urged the NatWest board to review the matter independently and welcomed its statement.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, Howard Davies, Coutts, Rose, Farage, Peter Flavel, NatWest's Davies, Davies, Rose —, Simon Jack, Jack, Sheldon Mills, Andrew Griffith Organizations: NatWest, BBC, NatWest Group, BBC Business, Authority, Treasury, Reuters, Government Investments

NatWest has faced intense political and media scrutiny over a decision by its private bank Coutts to close Farage's accounts. In a post on the X social media platform on Wednesday, Farage called for further heads to roll in the wake of Rose's resignation. On Tuesday, Farage said on his eponymous TV show that Rose was "unfit" to run a bank. She realised that her comments had left Jack with the impression that the decision to close Farage's accounts was solely a commercial one, Rose said in the statement. Rose also said she was not part of the decision-making process to "exit" Farage's accounts and said this was a decision made by Coutts.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, Coutts, Farage, Rose, Simon Jack, Howard Davies, Davies, Peter Flavel, Jack, NatWest's, Sheldon Mills, Andrew Griffith, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Urvi, Juby Babu, Simon Jessop, Mark Potter, Edwina Gibbs, Louise Heavens Organizations: NatWest, BBC, BBC Business, UK Treasury, Reuters, Government Investments, Authority, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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