Barclays third quarter profit beats forecasts with 18% rise as investment bank delivers

By Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) -Barclays’ third quarter profit rose 18%, it said on Thursday, as its investment bank cashed in on a jump in corporate dealmaking and trading during the period, echoing Wall Street rivals.

The British lender reported pretax profit for the July-September period of 2.2 billion pounds ($2.85 billion), up from 1.9 billion a year ago and better than the average of analysts’ forecasts of 1.968 billion pounds.

The lender upgraded its forecast for net interest income for the year, saying it now expects to make more than 11 billion pounds rather than a previous target to hit that number.

Barclays said third quarter income in its investment bank rose 6% year on year.

Fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) and equities revenue both rose 3%, while investment banking income from advising on deals rose 13% on increased fees from advising on corporate fundraising.

Barclays’ gains in deal advisory and equity capital markets follow an extensive reorganisation of its sector coverage and investment in staff in key sectors such as Energy Transition, Industrials, Healthcare, and Technology, executives at the bank said earlier this month.

The British lender in February unveiled its biggest revamp since 2016 in a bid to bolster investor confidence, saying it would push further into domestic lending and reduce the financial resources consumed by its investment bank relative to other businesses.

The bank also split its business into five operating divisions from a previous three, in a move that the CEO, known internally as Venkat, said would help improve transparency on each business’s performance.

($1 = 0.7733 pounds)