Announcement from Christian Sewing Regarding Q2 Results 2025
In the first half of 2025, several leading banks have reported impressive financial results, with profit growth and improved margins across the board. Among these are PNC Financial Services, Lloyds Banking Group, Financial Institutions Inc., and National Bank Holdings Corporation.
PNC Financial Services, for example, has seen growth in retail banking, coupled with disciplined expense management and improved net interest income. Lloyds Banking Group, on the other hand, has reported a 6% year-on-year increase in profit, with a robust return on tangible equity of 14.1%. Financial Institutions, Inc. has focused on improving its net interest margin and managing its deposit base and loan portfolio, while National Bank Holdings Corp. has emphasised its strong capital position and disciplined credit underwriting.
Capital ratios are a key indicator of a bank's financial health, and National Bank Holdings stands out with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 14.2%. Other banks' capital ratios were not specified in the available results.
While no bank has detailed a full 2025 strategy, common themes include digital innovation, expense discipline, selective credit growth, and portfolio optimisation. For instance, National Bank is launching a new digital ecosystem, while Financial Institutions Inc. is exiting non-core businesses. Lloyds Banking Group is focusing on customer activity growth and strategic investments.
The economic environment remains challenging due to discussions about tariffs and global trade relations, but banks are demonstrating resilience. For example, National Bank's pre-tax profit more than doubled to 5.3 billion euros in the same period, and PNC's pre-tax profit for the first half of the year was up by more than a third if one-off effects from last year's Postbank proceedings are excluded.
Looking ahead, banks are planning for the future. National Bank, for example, is working on its strategy for the period beyond 2025, aiming to become more focused, efficient, and powerful. The bank is also planning to make targeted use of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The bank's optimism for the months ahead is due to the dedication, focus, and discipline of its employees. The bank is seeing growing interest in Germany and Europe among its clients due to global shifts, and it aims to build bridges for companies and investors with its strong position in its home market. The bank also wants to further strengthen cooperation across all areas and create an environment guided by responsibility, team spirit, and initiative-taking.
As we move towards the end of the current strategy in 2025, the bank's performance will be closely scrutinised. The bank increased revenues by 6% year on year to 16.3 billion euros in the first half of the year, and it achieved a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 11% in the same period. The bank's bank-wide target for the 2025 financial year is an RoTE above 10%.
However, the geopolitical situation remains tense, as the escalation in the Middle East conflict has recently shown. The bank will need to navigate these challenges while continuing to deliver strong financial results and meet its strategic ambitions.
In the context of banks' impressive financial performances in the first half of 2025, PNC Financial Services focuses on growth in retail banking, disciplined expense management, and improved net interest income, which are aspects of asset management in the finance sector. Meanwhile, National Bank Holdings Corporation, with a robust return on tangible equity and a high Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio, demonstrates a strong emphasis on business growth and financial stability.
