Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) posted profits of £2bn in its latest quarter, the most the bank has made in a third-quarter period in its history.
As a result, the bank’s profit before tax this year so far soared 188% to £6.9bn while earnings per share more than quadrupled to 30.8p.
Jes Staley, chief executive, also primed shareholders to expect bumper dividend payments going forward.
“We are focused on balancing cost efficiencies with further investment into high-returning growth opportunities,” he said.
“Our CET1 [solvency] ratio of 15.4% means we are also in a strong position to balance this growth with a key priority of returning excess capital to shareholders."
Corporate and investment (CIB) drove the performance in the three months to end September as the number of takeover deals soared and fundraisings and markets generally remained strong.
Income from investment banking fees and equities was the highest ever, added the bank.
Staley also said the bank was “seeing evidence of a consumer recovery and the early signs of a more favourable rate environment”.
Reports his week had suggested the Bank of England was considering raising UK interest rates before the end of 2021.
Fears of a flood of bad debts due to the ending of Coronavirus (COVID-19) support measures has also not yet materialised.
Barclays was able to release a further £0.6bn from its bad provision in the third quarter, which also boosted the numbers.
Staley added: “We continue to support our customers and clients through the COVID-19 pandemic, have achieved a double-digit RoTE in every quarter year to date, and expect to deliver a full year RoTE above 10%.”
The CIB performance also continues to be an area of strength for the group, he said.