By Elena Vardon

The U.K.'s high street banks are set report results for the first quarter of 2025 this week. Here's what you need to know:

BARCLAYS: On Wednesday, the bank is expected to post 2.49 billion pounds ($3.35 billion) in pretax profit on income of 7.39 billion pounds for the first three months of the year, according to a company-compiled consensus of 15 analyst estimates. Barclays should report a strong quarter led by its performance in markets, tracking the results of U.S. peers.

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP: Lloyds reports on Thursday and the consensus provided by the bank, which is based on 18 analyst models, forecasts 1.53 billion pounds in pretax profit on 4.39 billion pounds in income.

NATWEST: Consensus based on 11 estimates expects a 1.565 billion-pound pretax profit figure for the period to March 31, on 3.84 billion pounds in income, when the lender reports on Friday. The bank could narrow its 15.2 billion to 15.7 billion-pound income guidance for 2025 which analysts see as conservative.

Since the start of the year, Lloyds' stock has gained 34%, while Natwest's is up 20% and Barclays has advanced 11%.

WHAT TO WATCH:

-- This earnings season should be "characterized by solid numbers and investors who are entirely focussed on the outlook for post tariff trading," UBS said in a note to clients, noting that the U.K. is relatively insulated against headwinds from interest rates. "We would welcome a relatively uneventful quarter against the backdrop of volatile newsflow and higher risks to corporate earnings/outlook which have more direct tariff exposure," J.P.Morgan Cazenove added.

-- Investors will look for signs of any hit from a weaker dollar and macroeconomic volatility--especially for Barclays given its U.S. operations--as well as clues on tariffs' effect on credit quality. "This is an opportunity for banks to comfort the market that they are positioned well for any softening in the macro," Jefferies said.

-- The evolution of net interest margin and loan growth following the Bank of England's latest interest rate cuts will be watched, though banks have hedging mechanisms in place to mitigate this and should prove resilient.

-- Uncertainty around Supreme Court deliberations on potential refunds linked to the car loans probe still plagues Lloyds, which has taken provisions for a potential redress. Investors will look out for any commentary ahead of the ruling which is expected in the summer.

-- For NatWest, particular attention will be paid to potential domestic M&A opportunities as the bank closes its deal for Sainsbury's Bank and Metro Bank's mortgage portfolio. The U.K. government recently reduced its stake to under 3%, signalling the lender's impeding return to private ownership after 15 years.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2025 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT)

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