NatWest Group has revealed its highest yearly profit since just before the financial crisis in 2007.

The banking group reported a pre-tax profit of £6.2bn over 2023, higher than expected.

Punchline-Gloucester.com reported in November that NatWest Group, which comprises NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, had closed 1,329 branches since January 2015.

This includes the NatWest branch at St. Oswald's Retail Park. It now only has one local branch in Gloucester, one in Cheltenham and one in Cirencester with mobile branches which visit Tewkesbury, Ledbury and Ross-On-Wye.

NatWest has also today named Paul Thwaite as its permanent boss. He replaces Dame Alison Rose who resigned last year after admitting discussing the closure of Nigel Farage's bank account.

The board said he was the "right person" to shape the group's future.

It comes as the group is gearing up for a potential sale of shares to the general public, perhaps even as early as June, reports the BBC.

The government still owns 35% of the bank since it bailed it out to the tune of £46bn during the financial crisis.

But UK Government Investments (UKGI), the company responsible for government investments, has been exploring a share sale since the chancellor announced plans in 2023.

Today, the group said that its pre-tax profits for 2023 were up 20% on the year before and it announced a share buyback of £300m.

While higher interest rates have lifted revenues, it also warned that a tough economic picture could impact its future earnings.