Filing of Annual Report on Form 20-F with US SEC

NatWest Group plc

26 February 2024

 

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

2138005O9XJIJN4JPN90

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.

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