Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) posted an expectedly robust set of first-quarter results today, though mortgage pressures were evidently the fly in the ointment.
Group-wide income came to £7.0 billion, representing a year-on-year decrease of around 4%, with net interest income for Barclays UK at £1.55 billion.
Profit before tax and after impairments for the group was £2.27 billion, down from £2.6 million last year and comparing to City consensus forecasts of £2.2 billion.
“Continued structural hedge momentum was more than offset by mortgage margin pressure and adverse deposit dynamics reflecting wider market trends,” said Barclays.
Nonetheless, the profitable quarter of £1.6 billion in attributable profit to shareholders is a thankful turnaround from the £111 million of attributable losses penned in the previous quarter.
Net interest margins in the UK consumer division were 3.09% compared to 3.2% in the first quarter of 2023. The UK corporate banking divisions saw NIMs fall 10 basis points to a flat 5%, while private banking and wealth management fell 11 basis points to 5.07%.
Firm-wide CET1 capital stood at a healthy 13.5%. Return on tangible equity (RoTE) was down from 15% to 12.3%, with 10% the target for the full year.
Barclays does not expect to increase its total dividend for the year, instead emphasising share buybacks to support shareholder returns. £10 billion is expected to be returned to shareholders by end-on-play 2026.