Bank boss pay surges after bumper profits at Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest

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

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

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