NatWest Group Plc is the latest UK lender to cut its margin guidance as higher interest rates stir competition for deposits.
The UK’s biggest corporate lender reported operating pretax profit of £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) for the third quarter, slightly below analyst expectations.
The bank reported a net interest margin of 2.94%, compared with 2.99% a year ago, and said the full-year figure was set to be above 3%, down from its previous expectations of about 3.15%. NatWest pointed to customers shifting into fixed-term accounts to take advantage of better rates.
“Credit losses and impairments remain low and we are ready and able to stand by our customers and businesses through the current economic uncertainty,” Paul Thwaite, interim chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Thwaite took the helm in July after his predecessor Alison Rose stepped down over a row about former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s account closure.
Data published last week showed that inflation failed to slow as forecast in September, bolstering the case for the Bank of England to keep interest rates at their highest level in 15 years. Rate increases have heaped pressure on the mortgage market, with banks passing on higher funding costs to borrowers who are rolling off fixed deals.
At the same time, banks are making more on their deposits with the central bank, leading to calls from politicians and regulators to pass more of this windfall to their customers.
Barclays Plc cut its guidance on Tuesday to reflect growing competition for deposits, while Lloyds Banking Group Plc on Wednesday stuck to its outlook for the year.
Separately, the bank released the initial findings of an investigation into its handling of Farage’s account closure. That found “serious failings” in its treatment of the politician-turned-pundit.
NatWest said it would make a number of changes to its policies and procedures around exiting clients — which the Financial Conduct Authority is also now reviewing — and will disclose any decision on whether it would cut former CEO Rose’s pay as soon as possible.
