Barclays bank has revealed a 25% profits plunge hit by weak trading in its investment arm and global restructuring.
The bank said pre-tax profit for the first quarter dropped to £793million, down from £1.1billion this time last year.
Part of the profits slump has come from selling off investment bank operations in nine countries, and its Portuguese retail, wealth and SME banking businesses. Its Italian branch network, index business and Asian wealth business are likely to be sold off by the end of the year.
“This is the work we need to complete,” said group chief executive Jes Staley. “As these deals complete we are reducing and crucially eliminating costs which have a direct impact on our profitability today and mask the true performance of our strong core business. It is performing well in a challenging environment.”
It said credit impairment charges, up 5% to £443million, and mainly from customers in the oil and gas sector had also hit its figures.
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