Ulster Bank Credit Rating
Ulster Bank is not a bank in its own right: it is a trading name of National Westminster Bank plc (FCA firm reference 121878), part of NatWest Group. Credit rating agencies rate the licence holder, not the brand, so Ulster Bank has no rating of its own. National Westminster Bank plc currently holds a blended long-term credit rating of AA-, which is investment grade; that is the rating shown on this page. Ulster Bank in Great Britain and Northern Ireland trades under National Westminster Bank plc's licence (the Republic of Ireland business was wound down from 2021). It shares NatWest's rating and FSCS limit, while RBS and Coutts are separately licensed. A credit rating is an opinion on an institution's ability to meet its obligations, not a guarantee, and it is separate from deposit protection.
NatWest credit ratings by agency
| Agency | Long-term rating | Outlook | Last confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitch Ratings | AA | Stable | 19 Jul 2026 |
| Moody's | A1 | Stable | 19 Jul 2026 |
| S&P Global Ratings | A+ | Stable | 10 Jul 2026 |
Rating History Chart
Rating History
| Date | Rating | Agencies |
|---|---|---|
10 Jul 2026 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
09 Jul 2026 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
01 Jun 2020 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Jan 2020 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Dec 2019 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Dec 2018 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
01 Jun 2018 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Apr 2018 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Jan 2016 |
Fitch | |
15 Jan 2016 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch |
Service record: complaints, incidents and customer survey
Complaints: in the FCA's 2025 H2 file (July 2025 to December 2025), NatWest received 90,819 banking and credit-card complaints, 2.90 per 1,000 accounts. The bank upheld 57% of those it closed and closed 46% within three days. The previous period was 2.81 per 1,000, so complaints rose. Compare all banks.
Outages and incidents: Ulster Bank reported
0 major operational or security incidents to the FCA in the quarter to 30 June 2026 and 4 in the 12 months to 30 June 2026 (mobile app 1, online banking 0, telephone 0)
Customer survey (CMA / Ipsos, August 2026): share of Ulster Bank's own customers who would recommend it.
| Measure | Market | Would recommend | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branch services | Northern Ireland | 63% | 6 of 9 |
| Online and mobile banking | Northern Ireland | 74% | 7= of 12 |
| Overall service quality | Northern Ireland | 58% | 9 of 12 |
| Overdraft services | Northern Ireland | 57% | 6= of 7 |
| Branch and business centre services (business) | Northern Ireland | 62% | 1 of 5 |
| Online and mobile banking (business) | Northern Ireland | 72% | 1 of 5 |
| Overall service quality (business) | Northern Ireland | 61% | 1= of 5 |
| Relationship and account management (business) | Northern Ireland | 65% | 1= of 5 |
| SME overdraft and loan services (business) | Northern Ireland | 56% | 3 of 5 |
Market signals, ownership and group accounts
Short positions: 0.45% of NatWest Group plc's shares were held in disclosed net short positions at 1 October 2026, per the FCA's aggregated disclosures.
Only positions of 0.5% or more per holder are disclosed, so this is a floor. Above 2% to 3% is unusual for a UK bank; it is a view on the listed group's shares, not on deposit safety, which the FSCS covers regardless.Shareholding changes disclosed under the FCA's major-holdings rules in the last two years (listed group's shares):
| Date | Holder | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2026 | Norges Bank | 2.89% | 3.08% ▲ |
| 26 Mar 2026 | The Capital Group Companies, Inc | 5.01% | 4.99% ▼ |
| 23 Jan 2026 | Norges Bank | 3.06% | 2.89% ▼ |
| 15 Dec 2025 | Massachusetts Financial Services Company | 5.17% | 4.94% ▼ |
| 31 Jul 2025 | Norges Bank | 2.88% | 3.06% ▲ |
| 4 Jul 2025 | Norges Bank | 3.01% | 2.88% ▼ |
| 30 May 2025 | The Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury | 0.90% | 0.00% ▼ |
| 15 May 2025 | The Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury | 1.98% | 0.90% ▼ |
| Fiscal year | Profit before tax | Net income | Total assets | Equity | Dividends paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | £7.7bn | £5.8bn | £714.6bn | £42.6bn | £2.4bn |
| Dec 2024 | £6.2bn | £4.8bn | £708.0bn | £39.4bn | £1.8bn |
Latest News
Is Ulster Bank safe? What the record shows
Ulster Bank is a trading name of NatWest, so the record that matters is that bank's. Each statement below is taken from the source named beneath it, last checked 15 October 2026. It is information, not advice.
Banking licence
National Westminster Bank Plc (company 929027, registered office 250 Bishopsgate, London) is NatWest Group's ring-fenced UK bank, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under Financial Services Register number 121878. Trading names on the licence include NatWest, NatWest Premier, Mettle and NatWest Boxed.
Source: NatWest legal information, 15 Oct 2026Ulster Bank's Northern Ireland business transferred into National Westminster Bank Plc on 3 May 2021 under a court-approved banking business transfer, keeping the Ulster Bank brand. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (register number 114724) is a separate sister bank under NatWest Holdings, and Coutts & Company is a separately authorised subsidiary of National Westminster Bank Plc.
Source: NatWest Bank Plc 2025 annual results, description of business, 13 Feb 2026Ownership and funding
National Westminster Bank Plc is wholly owned, through NatWest Holdings Ltd, by NatWest Group plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange (NWG) with American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. HM Treasury announced on 30 May 2025 that it had sold its last shares, ending the public ownership that began with the £45.5 billion rescue of 2008-09, when the state's stake peaked at 84.4%.
Source: HM Treasury press release: government completes exit from NatWest, 30 May 2025Size
National Westminster Bank Plc and its subsidiaries (which include Coutts) reported total assets of £466.1 billion and customer deposits of £325.3 billion at 30 June 2026, from £449.5 billion and £325.1 billion at 31 December 2025. The wider NatWest Group serves more than 20 million customers and had customer deposits of £448.6 billion at the same date.
Source: NatWest Bank Group interim results 2026, 30 Jun 2026Profitability
National Westminster Bank Plc (with its subsidiaries) made an operating profit before tax of £5,726 million in 2025, up 23% from £4,663 million in 2024, despite impairment losses rising to £653 million including an £81 million charge on balances bought from Sainsbury's Bank. In the first half of 2026 operating profit before tax was £3,290 million (first half of 2025: £2,560 million). NatWest Group plc as a whole made £7,708 million in 2025.
Source: NatWest Bank Plc 2025 annual results; interim results 2026, 30 Jun 2026Capital strength
National Westminster Bank Plc's Common Equity Tier 1 ratio was 11.2% at 30 June 2026, unchanged from 31 December 2025 (2024: 11.4%), with a leverage ratio of 4.4%. The entity ratio is lower than NatWest Group plc's 13.2% CET1 and 4.7% UK leverage ratio at the same date because part of the group's capital is held at the holding company.
Source: NatWest Bank Group interim results 2026, key metrics, 30 Jun 2026Regulatory record since 2020
On 13 December 2021 Southwark Crown Court fined National Westminster Bank Plc £264,772,619.95 after it pleaded guilty to three offences under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, the FCA's first criminal prosecution under those regulations. The case concerned Bradford jeweller Fowler Oldfield, which deposited about £365 million, around £264 million of it in cash, between November 2012 and June 2016.
Source: FCA press release, 13 December 2021, 13 Dec 2021On 12 May 2022 the Payment Systems Regulator fined National Westminster Bank Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Ulster Bank Ltd and Coutts & Company £1.82 million in total for misclassifying consumer credit cards as commercial cards between 2016 and 2018, in breach of the Interchange Fee Regulation; affected customers were refunded.
Source: Payment Systems Regulator news, 12 May 2022, 12 May 2022On 27 October 2023 the FCA said it had identified potential regulatory breaches at NatWest Group and Coutts after reviewing the independent report into the closure of Nigel Farage's accounts, covering account-closure decisions, complaint handling and governance. No FCA or PRA fine or final notice against National Westminster Bank Plc dated 2022 to October 2026 was found; the negative rests on searches of the regulators' sites rather than a page-by-page crawl.
Source: FCA statement regarding NatWest Group, 27 October 2023, 15 Oct 2026Credit ratings
NatWest Group's investor relations page lists National Westminster Bank Plc at A1 (stable) from Moody's, A+ (stable) from S&P and AA (stable) from Fitch, each a notch or more above NatWest Group plc itself (A3, A-, A+). Fitch raised the bank to AA from AA- on 12 May 2026 after revising its bank rating criteria, having upgraded it to AA- on 25 June 2025; S&P raised it to A+ on 12 April 2023.
Source: NatWest Group credit ratings, 15 Oct 2026Deposit protection
Eligible deposits with National Westminster Bank Plc are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor, the limit that applies to failures on or after 1 December 2025. NatWest's FSCS information sheet states that NatWest, NatWest Premier, Ulster Bank, NatWest Boxed and Mettle balances are added together against that one limit; Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts hold separate licences with separate limits.
Source: NatWest FSCS depositor protection information sheet, 2 Dec 2025Operational incidents
Treasury Committee data published on 6 March 2025 showed NatWest reported 13 IT failure incidents between January 2023 and February 2025, fewer than HSBC or Barclays, but the longest total unplanned downtime of the nine banks surveyed at 194 hours. On 28 May 2024 the mobile app and online banking were unavailable for about four hours from 5.40am, which the bank called a glitch.
Source: City AM report of Treasury Committee data, 6 March 2025, 6 Mar 2025Frequently asked questions about Ulster Bank
Is Ulster Bank safe?
Ulster Bank operates under National Westminster Bank plc's banking licence, and National Westminster Bank plc holds a blended long-term credit rating of AA-, which is investment grade. A rating is an independent opinion on the institution's ability to meet its obligations; it is not a guarantee and can change. Separately, eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks and building societies are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per banking licence. This page is information about published credit ratings, not financial advice.
What is Ulster Bank's credit rating?
Ulster Bank has no rating of its own. Its licence holder, National Westminster Bank plc, has a blended long-term credit rating of AA- from S&P, Moody's, Fitch; the per-agency figures are shown above.
Which bank is Ulster Bank part of?
Ulster Bank is a trading name of National Westminster Bank plc, FCA firm reference 121878, part of NatWest Group. Ulster Bank in Great Britain and Northern Ireland trades under National Westminster Bank plc's licence (the Republic of Ireland business was wound down from 2021). It shares NatWest's rating and FSCS limit, while RBS and Coutts are separately licensed.
Does Ulster Bank share an FSCS limit with NatWest?
Yes. Ulster Bank and NatWest all sit under National Westminster Bank plc's licence, so money held across them counts towards one £120,000 limit per person, not one limit each.
Does Ulster Bank share a licence with Royal Bank of Scotland or Coutts?
No. Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts are separately licensed even though they are in the same group, so deposits there have their own £120,000 limit, separate from Ulster Bank's.
Is NatWest a real bank?
National Westminster Bank Plc (company 929027, registered office 250 Bishopsgate, London) is NatWest Group's ring-fenced UK bank, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under Financial Services Register number 121878. Trading names on the licence include NatWest, NatWest Premier, Mettle and NatWest Boxed.
Is NatWest profitable?
National Westminster Bank Plc (with its subsidiaries) made an operating profit before tax of £5,726 million in 2025, up 23% from £4,663 million in 2024, despite impairment losses rising to £653 million including an £81 million charge on balances bought from Sainsbury's Bank. In the first half of 2026 operating profit before tax was £3,290 million (first half of 2025: £2,560 million). NatWest Group plc as a whole made £7,708 million in 2025.
Has NatWest been fined by the FCA?
On 13 December 2021 Southwark Crown Court fined National Westminster Bank Plc £264,772,619.95 after it pleaded guilty to three offences under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, the FCA's first criminal prosecution under those regulations. The case concerned Bradford jeweller Fowler Oldfield, which deposited about £365 million, around £264 million of it in cash, between November 2012 and June 2016. On 12 May 2022 the Payment Systems Regulator fined National Westminster Bank Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Ulster Bank Ltd and Coutts & Company £1.82 million in total for misclassifying consumer credit cards as commercial cards between 2016 and 2018, in breach of the Interchange Fee Regulation; affected customers were refunded. On 27 October 2023 the FCA said it had identified potential regulatory breaches at NatWest Group and Coutts after reviewing the independent report into the closure of Nigel Farage's accounts, covering account-closure decisions, complaint handling and governance. No FCA or PRA fine or final notice against National Westminster Bank Plc dated 2022 to October 2026 was found; the negative rests on searches of the regulators' sites rather than a page-by-page crawl.
Who owns NatWest?
National Westminster Bank Plc is wholly owned, through NatWest Holdings Ltd, by NatWest Group plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange (NWG) with American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. HM Treasury announced on 30 May 2025 that it had sold its last shares, ending the public ownership that began with the £45.5 billion rescue of 2008-09, when the state's stake peaked at 84.4%.