The profits of the British Barclays Bank decreased by 38%, before tax, to 923 million pounds in the first quarter 2020 compared to 1.5 billion pounds in the first quarter 2019. p>
According to Arabia Net, these profits were lower than the average analysts' expectations in a poll conducted by the bank at 1.27 billion pounds.
The bank has set aside 2.1 billion pounds ($ 2.6 billion) to cover a possible increase in loan losses as thousands of corporate and individual borrowers from bank customers struggle to cope with the economic repercussions of a pandemic. Covid-19.
The bank said that the impact of the Corona virus began in the late first quarter and was likely to continue for a while expressing a less optimistic tone than Standard Chartered, which announced earlier in the day the profit decline 12 %, Over the same period.
The bank said that the group's income increased by 20%, to 6.3 billion sterling, thanks to an increase in the bank's transatlantic investment activities as profits before tax calculated 42%, to 1.2 billion pounds.
The fixed income, currencies and commodities division recorded the best performance in the first quarter, achieving an increase in income of 106 percent to 1.9 billion pounds as it benefited from sharp fluctuations in global markets.
The group's income from market activity increased by 77% to £ 2.4 billion, a record quarterly performance that is likely to undermine the drive led by Barclays Sherborne Investors' largest shareholder, to conduct Significant reduction in the bank's investment banking sector.
