In a letter to our shareholders, CEO
Despite the macroeconomic uncertainty, our customers remained resilient, navigating both inflation and rising interest rates. Throughout the year, we supported them to manage their finances, meeting our goal to help 2 million customers save over
As we look to 2024 and beyond, I am optimistic about the opportunities ahead for
Business performance
Our overall operating profit of
Our disciplined approach to capital allocation and balance sheet management delivered attractive returns and distributions for our shareholders in 2023. We announced
Our business performance was grounded in helping customers. In 2023, we increased our lending to customers by
We also made progress against our Climate transition plan in 2023, helping to build a more sustainable economy. We are working to support our customers' transition to net zero across a range of sectors and we have been a leading loan arranger to the
Results Centre
Find out more about our 2023 Annual Results
Results Centre
Supporting our customers
During a year of macroeconomic uncertainty, we focused on supporting our customers to better manage their finances. In 2023, we helped six million customers by conducting financial health checks, providing improved personal insights on credit scores, and helping customers to save for the first time. We were also one of the first high street banks to sign up to the Mortgage Charter in
Over 1.5 million new savings accounts were opened in 2023. By making our fixed term savings accounts available to more people, including those without an existing account with
We are the biggest supporter of
Our 19 million customer base means we are well-placed to support our customers to make sustainable choices, while driving value and growth from the commercial opportunities arising from the transition to a net-zero economy. Through initiatives such as partnering with
Simple for customers
We want to make it easier for customers to do business with us and are investing in technology and partnerships to be a simple, safe, and smart bank, driven by data and digital innovation.
In 2023, our Retail Banking mobile app was used by more than 9.8 million customers and there were 10.9 million active digital users(4) of our online and mobile banking platforms. 94% of our retail customer needs are now met digitally - up from 53% in 2019. In Commercial & Institutional, 86% of customers are now actively using digital channels to interact with us, and our innovative card and payments solution, Tyl, continued to grow. We were one of the first banks to offer Apple and Android Tap to Pay, a low-cost service removing the need for businesses to use hardware to accept payments.
We are also making it easier and quicker for our business customers to access financing with the launch of a new online lending platform, enabling customers to apply for a loan digitally in a matter of minutes.
By harnessing digital capabilities, we have also improved our customer service and productivity. In 2023, we collaborated with technology partners to responsibly use artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance customer engagement and improve efficiency. This led to the development of new AI capabilities, analysing customer behaviour to help us detect scams and fraud earlier to reduce financial loss.
Investing for the future
As set out in our Investment Case, we have capacity for disciplined growth across our three customer businesses. Our focus is on delivering long-term value for our shareholders by putting our customers at the heart of our strategy and deepening our relationships with them to better meet their needs. Using data and technology will make the business more efficient and effective, making it easier for our customers to do business with us and improving engagement and productivity for our colleagues. Accompanied by a disciplined approach to cost, investment, and capital allocation, I am confident that these actions will deliver long-term sustainable value for our customers, shareholders, and the wider
Building our team and culture
It is clear to me that our people are at the heart of our business, and I am grateful to our colleagues for their hard work, enthusiasm, and dedication throughout 2023. We have an engaged and resilient colleague base, and I am particularly pleased that our colleagues feel proud to deliver a great service to our customers.
We are also continuing to invest in future talent by providing colleagues with the skills and capabilities to fulfil their potential and build a high-performing culture. This includes offering reskilling programmes to build skills in software and data engineering, testing automation and human-centred designs, supporting future talent through our early career programmes and developing a new approach to performance management. These initiatives are equipping our people with the tools and opportunities to develop their own careers.
Conclusion
Our leading positions across our three customer businesses, and 19 million customer base provide strong foundations on which to create further long-term value for shareholders. In 2024, we will focus on disciplined growth, improving bank-wide simplification to make it easier to do business with us, and deploying capital efficiently while maintaining strong risk management to drive strong capital generation. This will enable us to continue supporting our customers, reinvest in the business, generate attractive distributions to shareholders, and make a meaningful contribution to the
Group Chief Executive Officer
(C) 2024 Electronic News Publishing, source