Barclays sees quarterly profits tumble

BANKING giant Barclays has posted a fall in quarterly profits as it flagged cost-of-living pressures on customers and took a hit from a US trading blunder.

The lender posted pre-tax profits of £2.2 billion for the first three months of 2022, down from £2.4 billion a year ago - far better than expected, but still showing the impact of a £523 million charge from the debacle in its structured products division.

The error, which saw it sell more structured notes than it was allowed under US rules, is being scrutinised by regulators and is likely to land Barclays with a fine, while it has also seen the bank push back a £1 billion capital return to shareholders.

It has made for a bumpy start to new boss CS Venkatakrishnan’s tenure after Jes Staley’s shock exit last November amid a probe into his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Barclays’s first quarter results show the group also booked a charge of £141 million for borrower arrears, more than double the £55 million a year ago as the cost-of-living crisis begins to hit customers.

But the group said it was not seeing signs that borrowers are getting into repayment troubles.

Costs in the quarter jumped to £4.1 billion from £3.6 billion a year ago as it put by around £500 million following regulatory probes, most recently having admitted to selling more products to investors in the US than it was allowed to.

But results were buoyed by an impressive performance in its investment bank, with overall revenues rising 10% to £6.5 billion in the quarter as trading income was boosted by volatility amid the Ukraine war.