A sign hangs above an entrance to a branch of Barclays Plc bank in the City of London, U.K.
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LONDON — Barclays on Wednesday reported an unexpected rise in third-quarter earnings on the back of strong trading revenues, despite a continued drag from a costly U.S. trading error.
The British lender posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of £1.512 billion ($1.73 billion), above consensus analyst expectations of £1.152 billion and marking an increase from a restated £1.374 billion for the same period last year.
“We delivered another quarter of strong returns, and achieved income growth in each of our three businesses, with a 17% increase in Group income to £6.4 billion,” Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said in a statement.
“Our performance in FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities trading) was particularly strong and we continued to build momentum in our consumer businesses in the U.K. and U.S.”
The group continued to take a hit from an over-issuance of securities in the U.S., which have led to £996 million in litigation and conduct charges so far this year.
The largest upward contribution to the bank’s performance came from its FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) trading operations, where income soared 93% in the third quarter year-on-year to £1.546 billion.
- Common equity tier one capital (CET1) ratio was 13.8%, compared to 15.4% at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and 13.6% in the previous quarter.
- Group income including the impact from the over-issuance of securities hit £6 billion, up from £5.5 billion for the same period last year.
- Return on tangible equity (RoTE) was 12.5%, compared to 11.4% in the third quarter of 2021.
- Credit impairment charges rose to £381 million, up from £120 million last year, with the bank citing a “deteriorating macroeconomic outlook.”
Barclays shares will begin Wednesday’s trading session down almost 20% on the year.
