LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - British lender NatWest
returned to profit in the first quarter of 2021 after joining
rivals in releasing some of the cash it had set aside to cover
expected bad loans due to the pandemic.
The state-backed bank on Thursday reported a pre-tax profit
of 946 million pounds ($1.32 billion) for the first three months
of the year, ahead of an average of analyst forecasts of 536
million pounds. The bank made a 519 million pound pre-tax profit
in the same period the prior year.
Like HSBC and Lloyds, NatWest's profits
were boosted by a net impairment release, of 102 million pounds.
Analysts had forecast an extra charge of 251 million pounds.
The bank - which remains 60% taxpayer-owned following a
government bailout in the 2007-09 financial crisis - had slumped
to a 351 million pound pre-tax loss in 2020.
($1 = 0.7165 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Anna Irrera)