The profits attributable to the shareholders also plunged to £695 million ($899 million) down from £2.07 billion ($2.68 billion) a year ago for the first half of the year. Barclays set aside £3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) anticipating bad loans arising from the crisis period. The British bank has a £1.6 billion ($2 billion) charge in Q2 2020. In early trading, Barclays shares were down 3.5%. Profit after tax was £1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) versus £3 billion ($3.8 billion) in 2019. The bank said in a statement: For its business in the UK, Barclays said that despite its preparedness to deal with the health crisis: Nevertheless, Barclay’s trading division reported better results posting a 60% increase in trading revenues in forex trading, rates, and credit trading. Also, the market segment delivered a 49% increase in revenue to £2 billion ($2.6 billion).
Outlook
The bank anticipates that the second half of the year will also be challenging due to an uncertain outlook coupled with a low-interest-rate environment. Barclays expects impairment charges to remain significantly above levels recorded in recent years. However, it expects the levels to be below the first-half level of £3.7 billion. CEO Jes Staley said: By the end of fiscal 2020, the board will decide on the capital returns policy and future dividends.
