(28 April 2016 – United Kingdom) Barclays has reported a 33 percent drop in pretax profits for the first quarter.
The Q1results follow that of US banks who also experienced falling investment banking revenues driven by a weak global market environment.
Barclays said pretax profits fell to £793 million (A$1.52 billion).
Investment banking profits fell by 31 percent for the quarter, driven by reduced trading activities and rising bad loans from exposure to the troubled oil and gas sector.
The bank’s two core units, Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International, performed strongly, with an aggregate 9.9 percent return on equity.
Total income at the bank's Consumer, Cards and Payments unit increased 24 percent to £917 million, reflecting continued growth in Barclaycard US and Germany.
“The performance of the core today shows the potential power of the group once it is freed from the drag of non-core,” Chief Executive Jes Staley said in a statement marking the first results since it launched its 'transatlantic' strategy.
Barclays' common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio dropped to 11.3 percent from 11.4 percent at the end of 2015.