London, Feb 1, 2026, 08:44 GMT — Market closed.
- NatWest shares last closed up 1.8% in London, near a 52-week high.
- The bank disclosed another share repurchase and updated its voting rights tally in filings.
- Focus shifts to the Bank of England decision on Feb. 5 and NatWest’s Feb. 13 annual results.
NatWest Group Plc (NWG.L) shares last closed at 665.2 pence, up 1.81% on the day, leaving them just shy of the 52-week high of 674.2 pence.
That move lands ahead of a busy stretch for UK banks, with investors weighing how quickly interest rates might fall and what that means for lending returns and capital payouts.
The Bank of England is due to announce its next Bank Rate decision on Thursday, with the benchmark currently at 3.75%.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank said it bought 787,709 ordinary shares on Jan. 30 via Merrill Lynch International, a unit of Bank of America, paying a volume-weighted average 663.60 pence, with prices ranging from 658.00 to 666.40 pence. NatWest said it intends to cancel the shares.
The bank also updated investors on its voting rights and share capital as at Jan. 30, listing 7,991,063,144 ordinary shares in issue excluding treasury shares, and 218,748,847 held in treasury, with a total voting rights figure of 31,966,185,136 including preference shares.
A share buyback is when a company repurchases its own stock, typically to shrink the share count and lift earnings per share. The “volume-weighted average price” is the average price paid, weighted by the size of each trade.
NatWest is due to publish annual results at 0700 GMT on Feb. 13, followed by a management presentation later that morning, according to its investor site.
Traders will watch for signals on income trends, costs and credit quality, and whether the bank keeps the pace on distributions such as dividends and buybacks as rates start to bite.
But the rate backdrop can cut both ways for lenders. Faster-than-expected easing, or a weaker UK economy that pushes up loan losses, could pressure profitability and cool appetite for bank stocks.
Next up is Thursday’s Bank Rate decision, then NatWest’s Feb. 13 results and briefings.
