NatWest appoints new CEO as bank reveals highest profit since 2007 | Personal Finance | Finance

NatWest Group has announced Paul Thwaite as its new permanent chief executive, and also revealed its highest yearly profit since before the 2008 financial crisis. Mr Thwaite takes over from Dame Alison Rose, who left after a debanking row last year.

The NatWest board described Mr Thwaite as an “outstanding candidate and the right person to shape the future of NatWest”.

The bank also reported a pre-tax profit of £6.2 billion for 2023, which is the highest since the £9.9 billion made just before the global financial crisis in 2007.

This was higher than analysts’ expectations of a £6 billion profit for the year, and was up by a fifth compared with 2022. However, NatWest said it had been affected by the more competitive savings rates environment.

Mr Thwaite expressed his pride in leading NatWest and its 19 million customers, saying: “It is an exciting time for our sector and our bank. I am confident we can shape the future of NatWest to deliver its full potential.”

He added: “This year we are focused on the things we can control; delivering profitable growth, becoming more efficient, more productive, and simpler to deal with, whilst managing our cost and capital efficiently.”

Mr Thwaite took over as interim boss of NatWest in July after previously managing the bank’s commercial business.

His appointment followed Dame Alison’s departure amid controversy over the debanking issue involving Nigel Farage’s Coutts account, which is part of NatWest.

Dame Alison had been with the bank for over three decades. NatWest’s chairman Howard Davies called her leaving a “sad moment”, noting she had “dedicated all her working life so far” to the company.

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