Barclays’ investment bank under strain after profits fall to £1.3bn
Barclays’ investment bank was the worst-performing unit in the business last year, and could face further cuts if it does not improve quickly.
The unit’s profits dived 31 per cent to £1.3bn, the bank’s financial results showed yesterday.
And its return on equity fell to 2.7 per cent – far below the 11.9 per cent in the personal and business banking arm, and well short of the 12 per cent Barclays group is targetting by the end of 2016.
Barclays had to set aside an extra £750m to cover the costs of US and UK regulators’ investigations into foreign exchange benchmark abuse, on top of the £500m already allocated – costs which fall on the investment bank.
“I am not a very patient person and every business has to deliver the return on equity that we require of it,” chief executive Antony Jenkins warned investment bankers.
He said the bank “won’t hesitate” to re-allocate resources away from the investment bank and into more profitable units if necessary. Barclays’ shares dropped 3.22 per cent on the day.