NatWest Group (NWG) Stock Today: Share Buyback, UK Deposit Guarantee Hike and Investor Outlook

NatWest Group plc (LON:NWG, NYSE:NWG) enters Tuesday, 18 November 2025 with a mix of market pressure and supportive news flow: a fresh share buyback disclosure, a major upgrade to the UK’s deposit protection scheme, and continued focus on capital returns after a very strong set of 2025 results so far.

Below is a rounded picture of what’s happening around the stock today and what it could mean for investors. (Nothing here is investment advice – just information and context.)

NatWest share price on 18 November 2025

On the London Stock Exchange, NatWest Group shares closed on 18 November 2025 at 583.6p, having traded between 568.24p and 588.18p during the session, on volume just under 5 million shares. That represents a daily fall of about 2.4% from the previous close of 598.2p on 17 November. ^[1]

Despite today’s pull-back, the bank is still sitting on hefty gains over the past year. Historical data show that NatWest’s London listing has climbed from a 52‑week low around 369p in early 2025 to a recent high above 620p, leaving the shares up more than 50% over 12 months and over 250% over five years. ^[2]

In the US, NatWest’s NYSE‑listed ADR (ticker: NWG) last closed at about $15.5, roughly 6% below its recent 52‑week high near $16.5 and nearly 70% above its 52‑week low around $9.2, according to overseas broker data. ^[3]

At today’s London close, NatWest is trading on a trailing price/earnings ratio of roughly 11.4x and a historic dividend yield just under 3.7%, based on 2024 financials and recent dividend history. ^[4] For a UK high‑street bank that is now fully private again, those are mid‑range valuations: not bargain‑basement, but not at the lofty multiples often seen for high‑growth sectors either.

Fresh share buyback: 882,700 shares repurchased

The main company‑specific disclosure hitting the tape for NatWest around 18 November is another “Transaction in Own Shares” announcement.

According to an RNS filing and a parallel SEC Form 6‑K, NatWest repurchased 882,700 ordinary shares on 17 November 2025, executed via Merrill Lynch International (BofA) under its existing buyback programme. ^[5]

Key details from the filing:

Date of purchase: 17 November 2025
Number of shares bought: 882,700
Price range: 597.40p–602.60p
Volume‑weighted average price: 599.62p
Venue: London Stock Exchange
Post‑transaction position:
- Shares held in treasury: 230,239,434
- Shares in issue (excluding treasury): 8,020,814,759 ^[6]

The company states that these shares are intended to be cancelled, shrinking the free‑float share count over time. This continues a pattern of aggressive capital return: NatWest has been running regular on‑market buybacks through 2025 following strong earnings and a strengthening capital position. ^[7]

For equity holders, the logic is straightforward:

Fewer shares outstanding → higher earnings per share (all else equal).
It can also signal management confidence in the bank’s balance sheet and long‑term profitability.

On the flip side, ongoing buybacks also underline that NatWest may have limited organic growth opportunities at very high returns: when a bank can’t easily reinvest surplus capital at its target RoTE, returning cash becomes the default option.

2025 so far: earnings momentum and upgraded targets

Today’s buyback sits on top of a very strong earnings year to date.

Q3 2025: big beat and guidance upgrade

On 24 October 2025, NatWest reported third‑quarter results that comfortably beat expectations:

Q3 operating profit before tax: £2.2bn, up about 30% year‑on‑year and ahead of analyst forecasts around £1.8bn.
Management upgraded 2025 return on tangible equity (RoTE) guidance to “above 18%”, from a previous target above 16.5%, putting NatWest at the very top end of UK and wider European peers on profitability. ^[8]
Loan growth was “broad‑based”, spanning both UK mortgages and business lending, while assets under management in wealth and investment products rose more than 8% to about £56bn. ^[9]

Reuters and Bloomberg both highlighted that the Q3 beat and guidance hike pushed NatWest shares to their highest level since 2008, effectively a 15‑ to 17‑year high for the stock. ^[10]

Earlier in the year: strong Q1 and continuing capital build

Earlier in 2025, NatWest also posted double‑digit growth:

Q1 2025 profit rose about 36% year‑on‑year, helped by higher interest margins and resilient credit quality, according to Reuters’ coverage of the May results. ^[11]
By mid‑year, NatWest had already launched sizeable buyback programmes and continued to run a comfortably above‑regulatory capital position, giving it scope to keep returning money to shareholders while still digesting regulatory changes. ^[12]

Analyst notes cited by the financial press suggest that UK banks such as NatWest could return a very significant portion of their market capitalisation in dividends and buybacks between 2025 and 2027, assuming no major credit shock. ^[13]

Regulatory backdrop today: deposit protection and ring‑fencing

The broader UK banking backdrop has also shifted on 18 November 2025, in ways that matter for NatWest’s risk profile and funding costs.

Deposit guarantee raised to £120,000

Overnight, the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) confirmed that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) deposit guarantee limit will rise from £85,000 to £120,000 per person per bank – a 40% increase from the previous cap set back in 2017. ^[14]

Key points from the PRA’s announcement, as reported by Reuters:

The change is intended to reflect persistent inflation and maintain public confidence in UK banks after a long period of elevated price levels.
The cap on temporary high balances (for example, the proceeds from a house sale) rises from £1m to £1.4m.
The FSCS remains industry‑funded, meaning that banks, including NatWest, will ultimately bear the cost of higher protection through the levies they pay. ^[15]

For NatWest, the move is a double‑edged sword:

It should bolster depositor confidence and help keep low‑cost retail deposits “sticky” in the system – good news for funding stability.
Over time, however, higher FSCS levies could slightly increase operating costs across the sector.

Ring‑fencing: only modest changes expected

Separate reporting this month from Reuters indicates that the Bank of England is resisting calls for sweeping changes to the UK’s ring‑fencing regime – the rules that separate large banks’ core retail operations from riskier investment‑banking activities. NatWest, along with Lloyds, HSBC’s UK arm, Barclays and Santander UK, remains one of the key “ring‑fenced” banks. ^[16]

The direction of travel looks to be:

Some technical easing, such as more flexibility around intra‑group services and certain derivative exposures.
But no radical loosening that would unlock large amounts of trapped capital or allow ring‑fenced entities to take significantly more risk. ^[17]

For NatWest shareholders, that means:

No immediate “capital windfall” from any dismantling of ring‑fencing.
But also no big regulatory shock – just an incremental adjustment to a regime the bank has already adapted to.

Strategy in focus: mortgages, SMEs and sustainability

While today’s headlines centre on buybacks and regulation, several recent NatWest initiatives flesh out the strategy behind those numbers.

Mortgages and housing access

On 11 November 2025, NatWest announced new shared ownership mortgage products, designed to help customers onto or up the property ladder by buying a share of a home and paying rent on the remainder. The bank also updated affordability criteria for interest‑only mortgages and purchases of new‑build properties. ^[18]

This serves a couple of goals:

It aligns with UK policymakers’ focus on housing affordability and first‑time buyers.
It supports moderate growth in secured lending, an area where NatWest sees scope for risk‑adjusted returns without stretching its credit standards.

Branch closures and the digital shift

On the other side of the ledger, NatWest – like many UK banks – is cutting physical branches as more customers move online. Consumer‑finance coverage and dedicated branch‑tracking sites show that well over 100 NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank branches are scheduled to close in 2025 and into early 2026, alongside the closure of dozens of mobile branches. ^[19]

NatWest argues that:

Over 80% of active current‑account customers now bank digitally, and the vast majority of retail accounts are opened online.
It plans to invest more than £20m in 2025 in the branches that remain, upgrading service and cutting environmental impact. ^[20]

However, the closures continue to attract political and media scrutiny, particularly around the risk of financial exclusion in rural communities and among older customers who are less comfortable with digital‑only banking. ^[21]

Sustainability and climate strategy

NatWest also remains active on the climate and “green finance” front:

In July 2025, the bank said it had already delivered £110bn of climate and sustainable finance, surpassing its prior £100bn target, and announced plans to scale up support for net‑zero transition, including financing for nuclear power and gas with carbon capture and storage. ^[22]
Today, 18 November, a Glasgow Chamber of Commerce event listing highlights an upcoming “Glasgow Talks” session with James Close, NatWest’s Head of Climate Change, focused on how the bank sees UK energy policy, the Autumn Budget and its “Sustainability Solutions” and “Future Fit” programmes for businesses. ^[23]

This sustainability push supports NatWest’s brand positioning and may help offset reputational risks elsewhere, though investors will watch closely how it affects risk‑weighted assets and returns.

Leadership moves around the NatWest alumni network

While not directly changing NatWest’s balance sheet, one notable people move tied to the bank also hit the wires today:

FNZ, the global investment‑platform provider, has appointed former NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose as UK chair and member of the group board, nearly two years after she stepped down from NatWest in 2023. ^[24]

The appointment underscores the continuing influence of NatWest’s alumni in wider UK financial services. For NatWest, it’s a reminder of the post‑2023 governance reset and the bank’s effort to show a clean break from the “Coutts/Farage” era that ultimately led to Rose’s resignation.

What today’s developments could mean for NatWest investors

Putting it all together, here’s how 18 November 2025 looks from an investor’s perspective:

Earnings and capital still look robust.
- Q3 and year‑to‑date numbers point to RoTE above 18%, strong pre‑tax profits and disciplined credit quality. ^[25]
- The bank continues to generate surplus capital, which is being recycled into dividends and increasingly chunky buybacks.
Buybacks are actively shrinking the share count.
- Today’s 882,700‑share repurchase is only one day’s activity in a multi‑month programme, but regulatory filings show a steady stream of similar transactions through November. ^[26]
- Over time, this supports per‑share earnings and dividends, assuming profits stay on track.
Regulation is evolving, but not in a way that fundamentally changes the story – yet.
- A higher deposit guarantee limit should support confidence and help keep NatWest’s retail funding base stable, even if it increases FSCS‑related costs slightly. ^[27]
- Ring‑fencing is likely to remain in place with only technical adjustments, meaning no sudden release of trapped capital, but also no new structural constraints.
Valuation reflects both the progress and the risks.
- At ~11x trailing earnings and a mid‑single‑digit yield when combining ordinary dividends with buybacks, NatWest trades like a profitable but cyclical UK domestic bank, not a high‑growth stock. ^[28]
- Investors are effectively being paid to wait, but they are also exposed to UK macro risks (growth, unemployment, house prices) and policy risk (future tax or regulatory changes aimed at banks).
Structural shifts continue: digital banking and branch reductions.
- Branch closures and product innovation (such as shared‑ownership mortgages) show a bank that is pushing harder into digital and targeted lending niches, but they also carry reputational and political risk if communities feel left behind. ^[29]

Key upcoming dates and catalysts

NatWest’s own investor relations calendar flags several events that could move the stock in the coming weeks and months:

19 November 2025 – Fireside Chat with CFO Katie Murray
25 November 2025 – Investor Spotlight: Retail Banking
13 February 2026 – Full‑Year 2025 Results ^[30]

Investors will be watching these events for:

Updated guidance on capital returns and the size/timing of future buybacks.
Management’s read‑through of the Autumn Budget for bank taxation and regulation.
Fresh detail on growth in mortgages, SME lending and wealth management, and any early signs of credit stress as higher‑rate loans season.

Final word

For 18 November 2025, the NatWest story is less about surprise headlines and more about confirmation:

The bank is still buying back stock,
Still digesting UK regulatory tweaks, and
Still riding the momentum from a very strong earnings year – even as the share price takes a breather after hitting multi‑year highs.

Anyone looking at NatWest stock today needs to weigh that attractive capital‑return profile against the usual banking‑sector caveats: cyclical earnings, regulatory overhangs, and the ever‑present risk that credit conditions turn faster than expected.

Again, this article is for information only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell NatWest Group shares. If you’re considering an investment, it’s important to take independent advice or do your own detailed research based on your objectives and risk tolerance.

Scary right? Results of investing in NatWest rather than putting the money in a savings account! 👀