NatWest Group PLC (NWG) Q2 2023 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning and welcome to the NatWest Group H1 Results 2023 management presentation. Today's presentation will be hosted by Chairman Howard Davis and CFO Katie Murray. After the presentation, we will open up for questions. Howard, please go ahead. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. I'll start with a short introduction before Katie takes you through our financial performance. On Wednesday, we announced that Alison Rose had agreed with the board to step down as chief executive with immediate effect by mutual consent. It was a sad moment. She had dedicated all her working life to date to NatWest and leaves many colleagues who respect and admire her greatly. Subject to regulatory approval, the board has appointed Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of our commercial and institutional business, as interim group chief executive. Before Paul became CEO of our commercial institutional business, he led the group's commercial banking division. He's a very experienced banker with a track record of success in senior roles in wholesale, corporate, international, retail, banking and risk, and has worked across the UK, in Europe and in the US. He's been a member of our executive committee since 2019 and has played an important role in delivering our current strategy, which remains unchanged. Paul will present results from Q3 onwards and looks forward to meeting investors on a one-to-one basis in the near future. The board began the process of appointing my successor in April, as I will have been in post for nine years by July 2024, the maximum recommended tenure under the UK Corporate Governance Code. And my successor will be responsible for leading the process to select a permanent CEO. And we fully expect Paul to take part in that process. With that, I'll hand over to K...