Alison Rose warns of ‘massive drop’ in business confidence
The boss of NatWest has begged for a return to stability after weeks of political and market chaos, as the bank predicted a 7pc slump in house prices.
Alison Rose warned that the turmoil of the past few weeks had caused a sharp fall in business confidence and said that consumers and companies are desperate for certainty.
It came as NatWest warned of falling house prices and a slowing mortgage market in the months ahead. Shares in the taxpayer-backed bank fell more than 9pc, wiping around £2.2bn off its value.
NatWest set aside an additional £242m to cover the cost of customers unable to pay back their debts in its third-quarter results, more than analysts had expected.