NatWest Group plc has announced the appointment of Erminia (Ernie) Johannson as an independent non-executive director, effective from Wednesday 1 July 2026. The announcement, made via the bank's official website, affects all 20 million customers across its retail, commercial, and private banking operations.
Appointment Details
Rick Haythornthwaite, Chair of NWG, expressed enthusiasm about Johannson's appointment, stating: “I am delighted to welcome Ernie to the NWG Board. Ernie brings over three decades of experience in financial services across investment management and banking. Her deep strengths in banking including payments, digital and data analytics, together with her leadership experience in financial services will be a valuable asset to the Board.”
NatWest, which competes with Santander, HSBC UK, Lloyds, Barclays, and Nationwide, serves more than 20 million customers. The bank has branches across the UK, including in Birmingham.
Financial Performance and Outlook
In May 2026, NatWest reported that the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict could cost the bank £140 million, amid slowing growth and rising inflation. Despite this, the bank reported profits ahead of expectations. Paul Thwaite, NatWest’s chief executive, noted that the base case scenario does not indicate stagflation for the UK economy. He said: “The events of the last six weeks or so have made the environment more uncertain for customers and businesses. But we are seeing a lot of resilience. Customer activity has been good, leverage for corporations is relatively low and household savings are high. But there is definitely a sentiment and confidence issue. The big question is how long the conflict lasts; a lot depends on the duration of the energy shock and the supply issues.”
Customer Growth and Lending
In the first quarter of 2026, NatWest saw 23,000 new customers investing, compared with 50,000 across the whole of 2025. Customer deposits grew by £3.1 billion to £444.8 billion. Gross lending rose by £7.3 billion in the first quarter, up 1.9% to £400 billion, including £4 billion to first-time buyers, with a target of £10 billion for the year. Thwaite added: “Households and businesses are being more pro-active than ever in making adjustments. The mortgage market has been strong in the first quarter. There was a lot of acceleration of remortgage activity in March.”
