LONDON: Barclays posted a 25pc slump in pre-tax profits to £793m as it continued to offload its international investment banking divisions.
Total income, excluding insurance claims, fell 11pc to £5bn in what chief executive James Staley called “a tough quarter”.
The bank said credit impairment charges were 15pc higher at £443m in the three months to the end of March, largely driven by clients in the oil and gas sector.
Barclays said that exposures to the sector remain “well managed” but warned that it was “cautious” in the run-up to the EU referendum on June 23.
Revenues at Barclays UK fell by 2pc to £1.8bn, driven by reduced fee income in its personal banking division and a decline in Wealth income due to the weaker equity market.
Pre-tax profits at the bank’s UK business were 17pc lower at £704m.
“Since the 1st of January, we have made progress in exiting from Investment Banking in nine countries, completed the sale of our Portuguese retail, wealth and SME banking businesses, and are progressing other announced sales, including the Italian branch network, the Index business and our Asian wealth business, towards completion in 2016,” Mr Staley said.
“As these deals complete we are reducing [risk-weighted assets] and, crucially, eliminating costs which have a direct impact on our profitability today and mask the true performance of our strong core business. This is the work we need to complete.”
