NatWest Group plc
26 February 2024
FILING OF ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 20-F
WITH US SEC
NatWest Group plc (the
"Company") announces that, on 23 February 2024, it filed its
Annual Report on Form 20-F with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). The document is available for viewing on
the SEC website at www.sec.gov and also on the Company's website
at www.natwestgroup.com.
The Company will send any holder of the Company's securities, upon
request, a hard copy of the Company's complete audited financial
statements free of charge. Requests may be made by writing to
the Chief Governance Officer and Company Secretary, NatWest Group
plc, Gogarburn, PO Box 1000, Edinburgh EH12
1HQ.
Jan Cargill
Chief Governance Officer and Company
Secretary
26 February 2024
Legal Entity Identifier
NatWest Group plc
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2138005O9XJIJN4JPN90
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Forward-looking statements
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking
statements
Certain sections in this document
contain 'forward-looking statements' as that term is defined in the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
such as statements that include the words 'expect', 'estimate',
'project', 'anticipate', 'commit', 'believe', 'should', 'intend',
'will', 'plan', 'could', 'probability', 'risk', 'Value-at-Risk
(VaR)', 'target', 'goal', 'objective', 'may', 'endeavour',
'outlook', 'optimistic', 'prospects' and similar expressions or
variations on these expressions. In particular, this document
includes forward-looking targets and guidance relating to financial
performance measures, such as income growth, operating expense,
RoTE, ROE, discretionary capital distribution targets, impairment
loss rates, balance sheet reduction, including the reduction of
RWAs, CET1 ratio (and key drivers of the CET1 ratio including
timing, impact and details), Pillar 2 and other regulatory buffer
requirements and MREL and non-financial performance measures, such
as NatWest Group's initial area of focus, climate and
sustainability-related performance ambitions, targets and metrics,
including in relation to initiatives to transition to a net zero
economy, Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing (CSFF) and
financed emissions. In addition, this document includes
forward-looking statements relating, but not limited to:
implementation of NatWest Group's strategy (including in relation
to: cost-controlling measures, the Commercial & Institutional
segment and achieving a number of various targets within the
relevant timeframe); the timing and outcome of litigation and
government and regulatory investigations; direct and on-market
buy-backs; funding plans and credit risk profile; managing its
capital position; liquidity ratio; portfolios; net interest margin
and drivers related thereto; lending and income growth, product
share and growth in target segments; impairments and write-downs;
restructuring and remediation costs and charges; NatWest Group's
exposure to political risk, economic assumptions and risk, climate,
environmental and sustainability risk, operational risk, conduct
risk, financial crime risk, cyber, data and IT risk and credit
rating risk and to various types of market risk, including interest
rate risk, foreign exchange rate risk and commodity and equity
price risk; customer experience, including our Net Promoter Score;
employee engagement and gender balance in leadership
positions.
Limitations inherent to forward-looking
statements
These statements are based on
current plans, expectations, estimates, targets and projections,
and are subject to significant inherent risks, uncertainties and
other factors, both external and relating to NatWest Group's
strategy or operations, which may result in NatWest Group being
unable to achieve the current plans, expectations, estimates,
targets, projections and other anticipated outcomes expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, certain of
these disclosures are dependent on choices relying on key model
characteristics and assumptions and are subject to various
limitations, including assumptions and estimates made by
management. By their nature, certain of these disclosures are only
estimates and, as a result, actual future results, gains or losses
could differ materially from those that have been estimated.
Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this
document speak only as of the date we make them and we expressly
disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained herein, whether to reflect any
change in our expectations with regard thereto, any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based, or otherwise, except to the extent legally
required.
Important factors that could affect the actual outcome of the
forward-looking statements
We caution you that a large number
of important factors could adversely affect our results or our
ability to implement our strategy, cause us to fail to meet our
targets, predictions, expectations and other anticipated outcomes
or affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements described in
this document. These factors include, but are not limited to, those
set forth in the risk factors and the other uncertainties described
in NatWest Group plc's Annual Report on Form 20-F and its other
filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The
principal risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect
NatWest Group's future results, its financial condition and/or
prospects and cause them to be materially different from what is
forecast or expected, include, but are not limited to: economic and
political risk (including in respect of: political and economic
risks and uncertainty in the UK and global markets, including due
to GDP growth, inflation and interest rates, political uncertainty
and instability, supply chain disruption and geopolitical tensions
and armed conflict); changes in foreign currency exchange rates;
uncertainty regarding the effects of Brexit; and HM Treasury's
ownership as the largest shareholder of NatWest Group plc);
strategic risk (including in respect of the implementation of
NatWest Group's strategy; future acquisitions and divestments
(including the phased withdrawal from ROI), and the transfer of its
Western European corporate portfolio); financial resilience risk
(including in respect of: NatWest Group's ability to meet targets
and to make discretionary capital distributions; the competitive
environment; counterparty and borrower risk; liquidity and funding
risks; prudential regulatory requirements for capital and MREL;
reductions in the credit ratings; the requirements of regulatory
stress tests; model risk; sensitivity to accounting policies,
judgements, estimates and assumptions (and the economic, climate,
competitive and other forward looking information affecting those
judgements, estimates and assumptions); changes in applicable
accounting standards; the value or effectiveness of credit
protection; the adequacy of NatWest Group's future assessments by
the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Bank of England; and
the application of UK statutory stabilisation or resolution
powers); climate and sustainability risk (including in respect of:
risks relating to climate-related and sustainability-related
risks; both the execution and reputational risk relating to NatWest
Group's climate change-related strategy, ambitions, targets and
transition plan; climate and sustainability-related data and model
risk; the failure to implement climate change resilient governance,
systems, controls and procedures; increasing levels of climate,
environmental, human rights and sustainability-related regulation
and oversight; increasing anti-greenwashing regulations; climate,
environmental and sustainability-related litigation, enforcement
proceedings investigations and conduct risk; and reductions in ESG
ratings); operational and IT resilience risk (including in respect
of: operational risks (including reliance on third party
suppliers); cyberattacks; the accuracy and effective use of data;
complex IT systems; attracting, retaining and developing diverse
senior management and skilled personnel; NatWest Group's risk
management framework; and reputational risk); and legal, regulatory
and conduct risk (including in respect of: the impact of
substantial regulation and oversight; the outcome of legal,
regulatory and governmental actions, investigations and remedial
undertakings; and changes in tax legislation or failure to generate
future taxable profits).
Climate and sustainability-related
disclosures
Climate and sustainability-related
disclosures in this document are not measures within the scope of
International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'), use a greater
number and level of judgements, assumptions and estimates,
including with respect to the classification of climate and
sustainable funding and financing activities, than our reporting of
historical financial information in accordance with IFRS. These
judgements, assumptions and estimates are highly likely to change
materially over time, and, when coupled with the longer time frames
used in these disclosures, make any assessment of materiality
inherently uncertain. In addition, our climate risk analysis, net
zero strategy, including the implementation of our climate
transition plan remain under development, and the data underlying
our analysis and strategy remain subject to evolution over time.
The process we have adopted to define, gather and report data on
our performance on climate and sustainability-related measures is
not subject to the formal processes adopted for financial reporting
in accordance with IFRS and there are currently limited industry
standards or globally recognised established practices for
measuring and defining climate and sustainability-related metrics.
As a result, we expect that certain climate and
sustainability-related disclosures made in this document are likely
to be amended, updated, recalculated or restated in the future.
Please also refer to the cautionary statement in the section
entitled 'Climate-related and other forward-looking statements and
metrics' of the NatWest Group 2023 Climate-related Disclosures
Report.
Cautionary statement regarding Non-IFRS financial measures and
APMs
NatWest Group prepares its financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP). This document may contain financial measures and
ratios not specifically defined under GAAP or IFRS ('Non-IFRS')
and/or alternative performance measures ('APMs') as defined in
European Securities and Markets Authority ('ESMA') guidelines.
Non-IFRS measures and APMs are adjusted for notable and other
defined items which management believes are not representative of
the underlying performance of the business and which distort
period-on-period comparison. Non-IFRS measures provide users of the
financial statements with a consistent basis for comparing business
performance between financial periods and information on elements
of performance that are one-off in nature. Any Non-IFRS measures
and/or APMs included in this document, are not measures within the
scope of IFRS, are based on a number of assumptions that are
subject to uncertainties and change, and are not a substitute for
IFRS measures.
The information, statements and
opinions contained in this document do not constitute a public
offer under any applicable legislation or an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or financial
instruments or any advice or recommendation with respect to such
securities or other financial instruments.
END