Barclays banks rise in profits in third quarter

Barclays has reported a rise in third-quarter profits as the bank dodged major conduct and litigation costs.

The group posted a rise in pre-tax profits from £1.11 billion to £1.46 billion in the three months to September 30.

The figures were helped by the absence of misconduct charges which dragged down first-quarter results.

Chief executive Jes Staley said: “In spite of macro-economic uncertainty, and particularly concerns over Brexit which weigh heavily on market sentiment, 2018 is proving to be a year of delivery on our strategy at Barclays.

“We remain focused on generating improved returns, and on distributing a greater proportion of excess capital to shareholders over time.”

Net profit came in at £1 billion, beating consensus forecasts.

Barclays’ investment banking arm had an improved performance with income at tits markets division rising 19% to £1.15 billion in the period.

Macro income, which comprises fixed income, currencies and commodities, rose from £627 million to £688 million.

The corporate and investment bank booked a total income of £2.24 billion, down slightly compared with the same quarter last year.

Jes Staley
Jes Staley

Mr Staley added: “During the third quarter, our Corporate and Investment bank outperformed peers again in Markets, with a 19% increase in income, and, in Banking, while we saw a dip in income, we have seen strong completion activity in October.”

The results come at a challenging time for the lender, with activist investor Sherborne pushing for higher returns from the investment bank and looking for bigger payouts for shareholders.

Mr Staley himself has also come under fire this year after attempting to identify a whistleblower at Barclays, sparking a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Advertisement