Barclays thanks its shareholders for their patience and apologises for any inconvenience this turnaround period may have caused
Barclays has today thanked its shareholders for being patient as the bank undergoes a turnaround period.
In a statement ahead of the bank's AGM, chairman John McFarlane acknowledged that the last few years had been an "extremely difficult time for shareholders", and accepted that decision to slash the dividends for 2016 and 2017 last month would have hardly been accepted with open arms.
"Unfortunately, we are where we are," McFarlane added. "That we find ourselves in a similar position with other major UK and European banks does not provide any comfort and is not an acceptable explanation."
However, McFarlane also indicated that there would be better times ahead, stating that Barclays was currently working towards achieving an improved outcome for 2017 and "a clean and prosperous year in 2018".
Shareholders approved all of the 24 resolutions at the AGM, including a 93.6 per cent vote in favour of the directors' remuneration report.
Yesterday, Barclays revealed that its pre-tax profits had fallen by almost a quarter year-on-year, dragged down by poor performance in its investment bank division.