Nevertheless, the group’s shares have gained 10 per cent this year, lifted by a record annual profit and good news across the rest of the sector. The group made a £450m provision in February to cover potential costs tied to the probe, which analysts have estimated could be some £2.5bn. Lloyds is considered the most exposed bank to a City watchdog review into now-banned motor finance practices, first announced in January. The beat offset a disappointing performance from its investment bank. The bank’s shares have been trading at their highest level since February 2022 after revealing a first-quarter profit ahead of expectations last week. Investors are now looking forward to a possible retail sale of part of the government’s remaining stake in the bank as early as this summer.īarclays has posted the third-best best returns in the FTSE 100, behind Rolls-Royce. This year, it has also installed a permanent CEO to replace Rose and overhauled its executive team. Natwest notched its highest annual profit since 2007 last year on the back of interest rate hikes, while a 27 per cent drop in its first-quarter earnings came in ahead of analysts’ estimates. However, the bank’s last two quarterly results announcements have impressed investors. Natwest’s stock is trading at its highest level since last January, after it recovered from a rocky second half of last year marked by a “debanking” row with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, which triggered the resignation of chief executive Dame Alison Rose, and disappointing third-quarter results. GDP growth in January and February has raised hope that the UK may already be out of the recession it entered at the end of last year, while business activity growth accelerated to an 11-month high in April, according to a “flash” PMI survey. According to Hargreaves Lansdown, it also leads the pack in total returns, which include dividends.īanking stocks are considered cyclical as they tend to perform well when the economy is growing.

Natwest is currently the top stock on the FTSE 100 for share performance in the year to date. The FTSE 100 lenders are up 38 per cent and 31 per cent respectively in 2024. The FTSE All-Share Banks index has jumped more than 13 per cent so far this year to reach its highest level since July 2018, driven by two names in particular – Natwest and Barclays.

Just three months after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey called their weak share prices a “puzzle”, the UK’s biggest banks have buoyed investors with impressive returns. FTSE 100 banking stocks are back in 2024, with Natwest and Barclays leading the charge

Lloyds offshore internet banking