Its home loans portfolio lifted 2.5% to £212.1bn from the end of the final quarter of last year, with an average loan-to-value of 56%, largely unchanged from a year ago. 

The book comprises 62% of five-year fixed-rate loans, 29% of two-year fixes, 1% of 10-year fixes, 5% of tracker loans and 3% of customers on standard variable rates. Buy-to-let loans account for £21bn of its portfolio.  

The high street bank launched a partnership to offer limited company buy-to-let loans with Landbay in July. 

The major bank leveraged the specialist’s lending platform and broker distribution network to enter this market, which sees it fund mortgage products delivered under the Landbay brand. 

NatWest also bought a £2.5bn portfolio of prime UK residential mortgages from Metro Bank in July last year for up to £2.4bn in cash. 

The bank posted pre-tax profit of £2.2bn, jumping 30% from a year ago, as overall lending rose by £4.4bn. 

Its results saw the bank’s shares lift 7% to a 15-year high, before later paring gains. 

NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite said: “With our strategic focus on growth, NatWest Group’s impact can be felt right across the economy, as we help people get on the housing ladder, save and invest for the future and grow their businesses – from innovative start-ups and vital mid-market firms to the largest multinationals responsible for critical infrastructure projects.  

“We are also becoming a much simpler bank, with tight control of costs supporting our digital transformation that is enabling us to anticipate and meet the changing needs of customers at pace.”