The UK’s biggest banks have had a strong annual earnings season.
Updates from Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest have shown strong profit growth, with their respective UK earnings being boosted by the slower-than-hoped-for pace of interest rate cuts introduced by the Bank of England last year.
Cost-cutting has played a role too, with lenders eyeing up big opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) to boost functionality and cut employment bills at the same time.
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A crumb of comfort for bank workers, and there will be many thousands looking over their shoulders, is that bonus pools are up widely across the sector.
But are those awards keeping pace, at least in percentage terms, with what their big bosses are taking home?
Barclays – CS Venkatakrishnan
Venkat’s package reflects the group’s earnings from its investment banking operation. Pic: Barclays
The chief executive of Barclays, who is known as Venkat within the bank, was awarded a pay package worth more than £15m for 2025.
This is up 29% on the £11.6m in pay and bonuses he was handed the previous year.
At the same time, the bank’s bonus pool was raised by 15% to £2.2bn on the back of a 13% rise in group profits to £9.1bn.
NatWest – Paul Thwaite
Paul Thwaite. Pic: NatWest
This is the first round of bonus awards since the group was fully returned to private hands after its taxpayer bailout in 2008.
NatWest reported an operating pre-tax profit of £7.7bn – up 24% on 2024.
The group, which also comprises Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, Sainsbury’s Bank and Coutts, awarded Mr Thwaite a 33% increase in total awards to 6.6m.
Its bonus pool for eligible staff was increased by 11% to £495m.
Lloyds – Charlie Nunn
Charlie Nunn is boss of Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest mortgage lender
At the end of January, Lloyds reported a 12% jump in annual pre-tax profits to £6.66bn – a rise of 12%.
Its annual report was not released at the same time but it revealed on Friday that Mr Nunn took home £7.4m in total awards.
That sum represents a 32% hike on 2024’s figure.
The group’s bonus pool rose 10% to £405m.
