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Barclays traders outperformed their Wall Street counterparts in the second quarter, reinforcing CEO Jes Staley's argument for preserving the lender's investment bank.
Fixed-income trading revenue increased 25% year-over-year, offsetting weaker equity trading performance, down 14%.
Overall, the bank's second-quarter operating revenues were 8% higher than the previous year, compared to an average decline of 8% for US competitors.
Barclays posted stronger than expected trading results as earnings fell 16% in the second quarter from a year ago, albeit in line with badysts' forecasts. He also said that he would increase his dividend by 20%.
The bank posted a net profit of £ 1.03 billion on revenues of £ 5.5 billion for the second quarter.
He said the revenue environment in the first half was "difficult" and announced that he would proceed with further cost reductions as he struggled to improve his business. 39, achieve its annual profitability objective.
Barclays said it expects annual costs for 2019 to be reduced to less than GBP 13.6 billion compared to previous forecasts for operating expenses of between 13.6 and 13.9 billion pounds sterling.
Barclays said its return on equity – a key measure of profitability – was 9.4% in the first half of the year, reflecting lower profitability in its various businesses.
The bank aims for returns of more than 9% for the whole year, which seems increasingly difficult to achieve since profitability tends to be lower in the second half.
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