LONDON, Feb 17 Reuters NatWest warned on Friday that rising interest rates may not deliver the longlasting earnings bonanza investors hope for, even though profit jumped by 33 last year.

Shares in the bank fell as much as 9 as investors digested the forecasts on the lender39;s net interest margin and costs for 2023, even as the bank reported annual pretax profit that rose to 5.1 billion pounds 6.1 billion from 3.8 billion pounds.

We think broadly the results are likely to be seen as a miss on 2023 expectations today, Credit Suisse analysts said, citing the bank39;s guidance of a net interest margin at 325 basis points for 2023.

Net interest margin, a measure of the gap between what banks charge borrowers and pay to depositors, should be showing healthy increases after a succession of central bank rate hikes.

The statebacked lender also announced a 10 pence per share final dividend and an 800 million pound share buyback.

It also raised the staff bonus pool by nearly a quarter to 368 million pounds, risking potential criticism because it is still 44 owned by taxpayers after a state bailout at the height of the 20082009 financial crisis.

Britain39;s economy narrowly avoided a technical recession at the end of 2022, official data showed last week, but inflation could still squeeze households and lead to more loan defaults.

The bank set aside 337 million pounds over the year to cover potential soured loans, though this was lower than 400 millionplus figure analysts…