Barclays, the UK-based lender, today reported their best ever first quarter. It continued to impress with modest beats on its income statement and balance sheet. In its first quarter results, the bank posted group revenues of £7.7 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of £7.33 billion. That impressive performance was given a huge lift by Wall Street’s investment banking sector. It had a 16 percent jump in revenue.
Barclays’ pre-tax profit for the quarter ending in March was £2.7 billion (about $3.6 billion). That was above analyst forecasts of £2.49 billion, according to LSEG. This significant performance is an early indicator of positive financial health for the bank this quarter.
Barclays’ U.S. consumer bank business saw phenomenal growth in 2024. It provided a return on tangible equity of 9.1%, nearly doubling the 4.1% return in 2023. This positive trend mirrors the bank’s commitment to continuing to develop its position in the U.S. market.
Barclays got a double whammy earlier this month when its shares crashed in the wake of a trade war the White House started on April 2. The bank’s fortunes, as far as stock returns are concerned, have rebounded and the stock is now up 10% year-to-date.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays’ CEO, heralded the quarter as an indication of good things to come, despite the challenging market conditions. While acknowledging the current volatility, he stressed how that volatility could be beneficial for the bank’s work.
“It’s calmer now but I imagine it will continue to go up and down. Beyond that, as you’ve seen in our results, that market volatility helps us help clients manage their risk, we can do so in a profitable way that helps them as well and helps markets income, as long as you manage your risk well.” – C.S. Venkatakrishnan
Looking forward, Venkatakrishnan cautioned against the unknowns that might be introduced by sustained market volatility.
“I think, going forward, the longer this goes on, the greater economic uncertainty there is, which is putting companies off from making decisions. Individuals also take time to make decisions; you could have a risk of a slowdown in economic activity.” – Venkatakrishnan