Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

NatWest Reports £20bn in Gross New Mortgage Lending for H1 2026

NatWest completed £20bn in gross new mortgage lending during the first half of 2026, according to figures released by the bank. Of this total, £1.2bn was attributed to buy-to-let (BTL) lending, with the remainder focused on owner-occupied mortgages.

The bank's total customer lending increased to £447.7bn, up from £429.9bn at the end of 2025. NatWest stated that this growth was primarily driven by increased mortgage lending. Lending on mortgages with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios above 90% reached £1.3bn during the period.

For new owner-occupied mortgages, the weighted average LTV was 72%, while for BTL mortgages it was 59%. Interest-only mortgage lending accounted for £2.1bn of new lending, and mixed mortgages totalled £502m.

NatWest reported providing £8.2bn of mortgage lending to first-time buyers in the first half of the year. The bank also noted ongoing efforts to broaden its mortgage proposition through partnerships with Rightmove and Landbay.

Within retail banking, mortgage balances increased by £3.9bn during the second quarter of 2026. NatWest said that balance sheet growth for the year had been mainly driven by the expansion of its mortgage portfolio.

Total income for the bank increased by 9.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, supported by lending growth and higher deposit income. However, NatWest noted that this was partly offset by lower mortgage margins. The bank also reported strong credit performance across its loan portfolio, though impairment charges increased due to ongoing uncertainty in the economic outlook.

These developments may be of interest to UK letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring trends in buy-to-let lending and first-time buyer activity.