Close Brothers Group PLC (LSE:CBG) hailed the resilience of its banking business in the first quarter of its new financial year – though the Winterflood market-making operation is continuing to struggle in the face of some tough headwinds in the equity trading arena.
The latter posted a £2.5 million loss for the three months ended 31 October, while the former saw its loan book increase 7.5% year on year to £9.8 billion, while the bad debt ratio was steady at 1%.
In its trading statement, the financial conglomerate said Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) saw net inflows of 10%.
Looking ahead, it told investors: “Our Banking business is sustaining its growth momentum and focusing on pricing discipline, and remains well positioned to make the most of opportunities in the current environment.
“In CBAM, we remain committed to driving growth organically, through high-quality hiring, and through in-fill acquisitions. Winterflood is well positioned for when investor confidence recovers.”
Close Brothers shares were off 2.6% at 766p in early trade.
Investment bank Peel Hunt, which itself has a large market-making operation, said the Winterflood performance represented a "new low".
The key performance indicators were broadly in line: "Overall we do not expect to make significant changes to our group profit forecasts, but will update shortly."