Barclays prepares for hard Brexit as Irish expansion gathers pace
The chief executive of Barclays said the bank is fully prepared for a hard Brexit as its Irish expansion plans gather pace.
Jes Staley said it would be business as usual for customers after Britain leaves the EU on March 29.
The bank will use its Irish subsidiary as a central European hub to guard against any disruption and Staley said the Bank of Ireland had authorised the move.
All its European branches will be transferred into the ownership of Barclays Bank Ireland and licences for the moves have been filed.
Around 150-200 jobs will be created in Dublin as a result, which the bank said would be a combination of new jobs and those moving from the UK.
Staley said: “We are well prepared to execute the business we do today after Brexit, even in the event of a hard Brexit.”
His comments came after Barclays reported pre-tax profits of £3.1bn year-to-date, having been hit by £2.1bn in litigation charges,
The bank said that excluding the misconduct fines its profit before tax would have grown 23 per cent to £5.267bn.
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However, following the fines its actual profit before tax represents a 9.5 per cent drop on the £3.448bn it recorded by the same quarter last year.
Its results were dented by a £1.4bn settlement with the US Department of Justice over its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities in the run up to the financial crisis and charges of £400m related to payment protection insurance misselling.
Barclays UK profit before tax increased to £1.566bn, up from £1.295bn by the same quarter last year.
Its international profit before tax increased to £3.56bn, compared to £3.269bn by the same stage last year, which it said was driven by a 73 per cent decrease in credit impairment charges.
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Staley said: “In spite of macro-economic uncertainty, and particularly concerns over Brexit which weigh heavily on market sentiment, 2018 is proving to be a year of delivery on our strategy at Barclays. We remain focussed on generating improved returns, and on distributing a greater proportion of excess capital to shareholders over time.”
Think Markets UK analyst Naeem Aslam said: “At first blush, it seems like there is still some firepower left. The equity trading business of the firm is still sailing the ship and the number is up 35 per cent which was well ahead of average estimates (28 per cent).
“Remember this was one of the worst-performing areas for the industry last year. The force behind this has been the strength in the equity financing. The fixed income business for the bank also printed encouraging numbers today, the business climbed 10 per cent beating analyst forecast.”