Barclays sees profits jump despite rise in bad debt provisions amid US concerns

Barclays has revealed first-quarter earnings jumped by nearly a fifth, but set aside more cash for bad debts due to worries over the US economy and a mounting global trade war.

The UK banking giant reported a 19% rise in pre-tax profits to £2.72 billion for the three months to March 31.

It increased provisions for loans expected to turn sour to £643 million from £513 million a year ago, largely driven by £74 million put by for “elevated US macroeconomic uncertainty”.

The group said it “continues to monitor the heightened uncertainty in the near-term macroeconomic outlook, especially in the US”.

Barclays has an exposure to the mounting trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump through its sizeable operations in America.

But group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, known within the bank as Venkat, cheered a robust first three months of the year, confirming the lender is on track for 2025 and 2026 guidance.

He said: “I am very pleased with our performance in the first quarter, which represents another strong quarter of execution.”

While it kept its outlook unchanged, the group increased its guidance for net interest income – a key measure for retail banks – to more than £12.5 billion from around £12.2 billion previously, with some £7.6 billion now expected from the UK arm.

The results show it also delivered around £150 million in cost savings in the first quarter as part of its ongoing overhaul.