VS Series
Lloyds v NatWest
Two high street banks whose groups were rescued by the taxpayer in 2008. How do their accounts compare?
NatWest leads on pre-tax profit, profit margin and growth; Lloyds Bank on turnover and net assets. Lloyds Bank is the biggest by turnover at £34,528m, against £23,714m at NatWest. NatWest keeps more of every £100 it takes, £24.15 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Lloyds Bank to Dec 2025 · NatWest to Dec 2025
Who they are
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank PLC · 00002065Lloyds Bank is a UK high street bank, providing current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards, car finance and loans to households, and lending and banking services to businesses.In brief: high street bank · ring-fenced bank · includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland · owned by Lloyds Banking GroupFull profile →NatWest
National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company · 00929027NatWest is a UK high street bank, providing current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and loans to households, and banking and lending to businesses of all sizes.In brief: high street bank · ring-fenced bank · includes Coutts, not RBS · owned by NatWest GroupFull profile →The Numbers
The leader on each measure is marked. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its total income after that interest was £18,429m, and its group includes Bank of Scotland plc (the company behind Halifax), MBNA and Black Horse (accounts to 31 December 2025, pp. 1 and 171). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its total income after that interest was £13,620m; its figures include Coutts & Company but not The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, a sister bank in NatWest Group (accounts to 31 December 2025, pp. 1 and 6).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
Lloyds Bank
£34,528m
Most pre-tax profit
NatWest
£5,726m
Highest profit margin
NatWest
24.1%
Fastest-growing turnover
NatWest
+5.8%
Biggest employer
Lloyds Bank
62,242 staff
Highest pay per head
Lloyds Bank
£72,000
Most turnover per head
Lloyds Bank
£555,000
Largest net assets
Lloyds Bank
£41,909m
Most cash
Lloyds Bank
£37,720m
The Takeaway
- NatWest converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £24.15 reaches pre-tax profit, against £15.85 at Lloyds Bank.
- Lloyds Bank is the largest on the top line, £34,528m of turnover, 1.5x NatWest's £23,714m.
- NatWest is growing fastest, turnover +5.8% on its own prior year.
- Lloyds Bank is the biggest employer with 62,242 people; Lloyds Bank pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £72,000.
- Lloyds Bank has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £41,909m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
NatWest keeps the most: £24.15 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Lloyds Bank keeps the least, £15.85.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is Lloyds Bank (£34,528m), NatWest (£23,714m).
By headcount, Lloyds Bank leads with 62,242 employees.
The accounting periods all end in the same month. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
NatWest grew fastest, turnover +5.8% on its own prior year, ahead of Lloyds Bank (+0.5%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
Lloyds Bank employs the most, 62,242 people, against 54,500 at NatWest.
Lloyds Bank has the highest average staff cost, about £72,000 a head; NatWest the lowest, about £62,000.
Lloyds Bank brings in the most turnover per employee, about £555,000, against £435,000 at NatWest. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by Lloyds Banking Group Plc
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 34 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Lloyds Bank →
National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company · 00929027Held by Natwest Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 20 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns NatWest →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Lloyds Bank | NatWest |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | LLOYDS BANK PLC | NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY |
| Company number | 00002065 | 00929027 |
| Incorporated | 1865 | 1968 |
| Accounts filed | 19 March 2026 | 3 June 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £34,343m | £22,407m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £4,688m | £4,663m |
| Staff costs | £4,471m | £3,392m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 12.9% | 14.3% |
| Employees, prior year | 65,435 | 55,700 |
| Dividends paid | £2,390m | £3,221m |
| Charges outstanding | 34 | 20 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
Lloyds v NatWest: common questions
Who is the biggest of Lloyds Bank or NatWest?
Lloyds Bank, with turnover of £34,528m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
NatWest: £5,726m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Lloyds Bank, with 62,242 employees in its latest accounts.
Lloyds Bank or NatWest: which is bigger?
Lloyds Bank, with turnover of £34,528m against £23,714m at NatWest on their latest filings. On margin, NatWest keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
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