The decision to make a £100 million impairment provision is the main contributory factor behind the fall in statutory profits at NatWest’s private banking operations during 2020.

Discount this provision, a by-product of the Covid-19 lockdown and the associated recession that characterised 2020, and profits would have come in at £308 million on a ceteris paribus basis, an £11 million improvement on the £297 million recorded for the previous year.

The £208 milli...