NatWest: Paul Thwaite announced as banking group's new chief executive replacing Dame Alison Rose

Banking group NatWest has announced that Paul Thwaite will take over as its new permanent chief executive, replacing the outgoing Dame Alison Rose.

Dame Alison stepped down from the role last year following a row over debanking. Controversy arose when she admitted to discussing former UKIP leader Nigel Farage's banking arrangement at Coutts, a high net-worth bank owned by NatWest, with a BBC journalist.

The board of the banking group described Mr Thwaite as an “outstanding candidate and the right person to shape the future of NatWest” in the announcement of his appointment. Mr Thwaite, who had served as interim chief executive since July, said he was "honoured" to be taking on the role.

He said: “It is an exciting time for our sector and our bank. I am confident we can shape the future of NatWest to deliver its full potential. This year we are focused on the things we can control; delivering profitable growth, becoming more efficient, more productive, and simpler to deal with, whilst managing our cost and capital efficiently.”

At the same time of the appointment announcement, NatWest confirmed its highest yearly profit since before the 2008 financial crash. The banking group had an operating pre-tax profit of £6.2bn over 2023, the highest since the operating profit of £9.9bn in 2007.

The 2023 profit was slightly higher than analyst expectations of £6bn, and up on 2022's profit. The bank has benefited from higher interest rates which has pushed up the cost of borrowing, however NatWest said that it had been affected by some competition in the savings rates environment.

Customer deposits fell by £13.8bn during 2023, with more shopping around for better saving rates. However, more people also moved money into fixed-rate savings accounts.