NatWest boss Paul Thwaite has bagged the banking group’s chief executive the biggest payout since his disgraced predecessor. Fred Goodwin It took home £7.7m before the 2008 financial crisis.
Thwaite, who guided the once bailed-out lender to full private ownership, was handed a £6.6m pay package for 2025, with the boardroom increasing his total remuneration by a third.
Exceeded that amount Received £5.2m by his predecessor Alison Rose for 2022Thwaite was replaced in 2023 after the group’s row with Nigel Farage over what the reform leader claimed was discriminatory closure of its accounts. It means Thwaite has been the group’s highest-earning chief executive since 2006, when the bank – then known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – was at its peak before the financial crisis.
Goodwin’s excesses are next He accused the bank of bringing it to its kneeswhich required a £45bn government bailout during the banking crisis in 2008.
Asked if it was appropriate to return to pre-financial crisis levels for his pay, Thwaite told reporters he was very proud of what NatWest had achieved over the past two years.
“The first thing I would say is that I recognize that senior roles in financial services, in banking and indeed in wider professional services, are very well paid. I appreciate that. I know that; I believe I’m very lucky and it would be churlish of me to suggest otherwise.”
“The executive pay policy is set by the board. It’s voted on by shareholders. There’s clearly a very close link between reward and performance. And it goes up and down depending on performance. So I’ll say that, really,” Thwaite added.
Thwaite’s earning power has been eroded not only by the bank’s privatisation, but also by last year’s decision to lift the banker bonus cap, which capped Thwaite’s bonus at twice his salary. It flipped the cap across the UK-wide as part of post-Brexit powers, which politicians and regulators hope will lure high-earning bankers to Britain’s shores.
On top of his £1.1m salary, a “fixed share allowance” of £1.1m and pension payments and other benefits, Thwaite was given a £4m bonus. That included an annual bonus of £1.5m, up 68% from £890m the year before. The remainder is linked to a long-term bonus scheme, which pays out £2.5m to 2025.
NatWest reported pre-tax profits of £7.7bn for 2025, a 24% increase on the £6.2bn reported the year before.
The lender also boosted payouts to its top bankers, boosting the group’s bonus pool by 10.8% to £495m, according to a newly released annual report on Friday. This is the highest level since 2013, when the financial crisis bonus pool was still around £576m.
NatWest’s annual report also revealed that 89 “material risk takers” will earn more than €1m (£870,000) in 2025.
Of these, 20 earned between €1.5m and €2m, while 14 earned more than €2m, the bank said. The lender employed a total of 59,000 permanent staff at the end of last year.
NatWest bankers will be in good company, although their peers at Barclays have also been handed their biggest bonus pool in 12 years. The rival bank revealed its bankers will share bonuses worth £2.2bn for the 2025 financial year, representing a 15% increase from £1.9bn last year. Will come later Barclays reported a 13% rise in full-year profits £9.1bn on Tuesday.
