NatWest (LON: NAT) Shifts Hiring to AI-Ready Graduates Amid Tech-Driven Strategy

NatWest (LON: NAT) is reshaping its graduate recruitment to prioritize AI-ready talent, including data scientists, software engineers, architecture planners, and prompt engineers, as it accelerates its tech-driven strategy. The bank, which invests £1.2bn in AI and operational simplification, reported pre-tax profits of £7.7bn for 2025, up a quarter from 2024, and announced a £750m share buyback. CEO Paul Thwaite, paid £6.6m in 2025, signed a £2.7bn strategic acquisition of wealth manager Evelyn Partners, its largest since the £49bn ABN Amro deal in 2007. Shares fell 10% since the deal, though Thwaite attributed volatility to broader macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. AI is already reducing costs, with automation saving about 90,000 hours annually in customer service and complaint handling.