NatWest sees profits jump by a third and returns annual bonus for bosses

But chief executive Dame Alison Rose insisted that the lender has not yet seen significant signs of stress among customers, despite being “acutely aware” that many people and businesses are struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

The lender’s operating pre-tax profits reached £5.1bn over the year, up 34 per cent from £3.8bn in 2021. It said total income across its retail banking arm was 27 per cent higher than the previous year as mortgage lending grew and interest rates increased for borrowers. Dame Alison took home £5.25m over the year as she received an annual bonus for the first time since the bank’s bailout by the Government during the 2008 financial crisis.

It was the first year of the bank’s new executive pay policy which is more closely linked to performance, and resulted in Dame Alison’s pay package increasing by a tenth. The payout includes fixed pay and annual bonus along with an estimated value of the long-term incentive awarded under the previous policy – therefore it is a combination of the new and old policy, NatWest explained.

The group’s chief financial officer, Katie Murray, also enjoyed a 4 per cent increase in her yearly compensation, taking home a total pay packet of £3.64m. And it ramped up the bonus pool for its bankers by nearly £70m in 2022, to total £367.5m. NatWest said the new pay policy is more competitive and helps it to attract and retain highly talented staff.

But it insisted that it still leaves the bank below the average expected compensation levels paid by other major UK banks.

It comes at a time that pressure has been piled on borrowers who have faced interest rates edging up consistently over the year.