Barclays posts sliding first-half profits

A man rides a bicycle past a Barclays bank in London August 5, 2010. — Reuters pic LONDON, July 29 — British bank Barclays saw first-half net profits tumble by almost a third, hit by non-core losses and an impairment at its French retail division, it said today.

Turning to Britain’s recent EU exit referendum, Barclays — which had backed the unsuccessful Remain campaign — said it was well placed to survive any economic fallout.

Earnings after taxation dived 31 per cent to £1.1 billion (RM5.877 billion) in the six months to June, compared with £1.6 billion a year earlier, Barclays said in a results statement.

Pre-tax profits fell 21 per cent to just over £2.0 billion in the same period.

Non-core assets, which the group has flagged for disposal, made a pre-tax loss of £1.904 billion.

Core assets logged a £3.967-billion profit.

And the group made a £372-million impairment on its French retail, and wealth and investment management business.

Barclays took another £400-million hit for compensation for the mis-selling of credit insurance or payment protection insurance (PPI), which has blighted the nation’s banking sector.

“This has been a quarter of very encouraging progress against our strategy,” said chief executive Jes Staley.

“Our core businesses, Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate & International, continue to thrive.

“Non-core (assets) rundown — the key to unlocking the full earnings power of that core — has good momentum, and we remain committed to closing the unit in 2017.”

Turning to Brexit, he added that the bank was “open for business” despite ongoing uncertainty over the matter.

“Given the inherent diversification of our business model, coupled with a longstanding conservative approach to risk, Barclays is well positioned to weather any potential economic consequences of that decision,” Staley said.

“We are very much open for business, and fully committed to supporting our customers and clients, and the real economy, through this period of uncertainty.”

Barclays had meanwhile revealed in April that it was in talks with to sell the French unit to AnaCap Financial Partners, marking its exit from continental European retail banking.

And in March, Barclays had revealed a shake-up of the beleaguered bank with plan to exit its African operations, having already announced its departure from Russia in January.

“Our priorities remain: strengthening our core businesses; closing Barclays non-core as fast as possible; progressing the sell down of our stake in Barclays Africa to a point where we can deconsolidate it; eliminating costs in both core and non-Core; dealing with legacy issues; and steadily strengthening our capital position,” added Staley today.

American veteran banker Staley joined the bank in December 2015, and was tasked with restoring the bank’s battered reputation following a series of high-profile scandals, including the rigging of foreign exchange and Libor interest rate markets. — AFP

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