NatWest named top pick by Citi as European banking bull run nears final leg

What Brokers Say Finance Written by: Ian Lyall 13:00 Wed 26 Aug 2026 --> Edited by: Jamie Ashcroft Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. NatWest Group PLC ( LSE:NWG ) View Price & Profile NatWest named top pick by Citi as European banking bull run nears final leg Published: 13:00 26 Aug 2026 BST NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) was named a top pick by Citi on Wednesday, even as the investment bank cautioned that the current European banking bull run is nearing its final leg. The shares dipped 0.23% to 688.6p as Citi maintained an 'overweight' rating on the wider sector, observing that recent earnings upgrades have now broadened to other market sectors too. At the heart of the update is a clear recognition that this broadening market momentum is actively reducing the historical scarcity value that European banks recently enjoyed among institutional investors. While lenders are still seeing earnings per share upgrades on a superior revenue outlook, the broker believes the fundamental drivers of that continued growth must now inevitably begin to shift. Looking ahead, analysts expect future earnings upgrades to be increasingly driven by underlying lending volumes rather than the fading macroeconomic tailwinds of peak central bank interest rates. Those vital volume pushes are currently being supported by new corporate initiatives that are specifically designed to harness the expected benefits from banking ecosystems and AI capex. On the same note, the broker highlighted ABN Amro Bank NV and Societe Generale SA alongside the British lender as its standout top picks. These selections arrive as the broader market enters a phase where European bank valuations are still not demanding, but they are no longer considered excessively cheap either. Crucially, analysts flagged that any aggressive push for faster organic and inorganic growth across the sector is now likely to come at the direct expense of lucrative share buybacks. Continue reading