LONDON, July 28 — British bank Barclays said today that profits tumbled on bad debt charges and litigation costs in the first half, and warned on the impact of surging inflation on customers.
Net profit sank to £2.5 billion (RM13 billion) in the six months to June, from £3.8 billion a year earlier, Barclays said in a statement.
Total provisions and legal charges hit £1.8 billion, 10 times higher than last time around.
Barclays booked a net charge of £600 million after selling more products to investors in the United States than it was allowed.
It also set aside £341 million for potential loan losses and warned over the impact of Britain’s cost-of-living crisis — echoing remarks from rival UK lender Lloyds.
“We are alert to the pressure that the rising cost of living will have on our customers and colleagues,” said Barclays chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan.
“We have a range of measures in place to help and are looking to do more.” Barclays forecast UK economic growth would slow, but said it was difficult to say if it would enter recession.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund cut its UK economic outlook due to stalling global growth. — AFP
