Publications
Partners
London - British bank Barclays said it was confident it will
repair the damage caused by an interest rate-rigging scandal that has rocked it
and the banking industry after beating expectations with a £4bn profit.
“We are sorry for the issues that have emerged over recent
weeks and recognise that we have disappointed our customers and shareholders,” chairperson Marcus Agius said.
“I am confident we can, and will, repair the reputational
damage done to our business in their eyes and those of all our stakeholders,”
Agius said, reaffirming a commitment to deliver a return on equity of 13%.
Barclays reported an underlying pretax profit of £4.2bn for
the six months to the end of June, above an average forecast of £3.8bn from
analysts polled by the company and up 13% from a year ago.
The bank is searching for a new chief executive and
chairperson after they quit in the wake of a record £290m fine last month for
rigging the Libor interest rate benchmark, sparking fierce criticism about its
culture and risk-taking.
Agius said the board was focused on filling those positions,
but gave no update on likely timing.
Barclays' investment bank fared better than most rivals in a
tough second quarter, with income of £3bn up 5% from a year ago and down 12% on
the first quarter.
But the bank is reviewing all parts of its investment bank,
people familiar with the matter said, and the Libor scandal has intensified
calls for it to shrink the business.
The bank also said it faces a bill of £450m to pay
compensation to customers misled about interest rate hedging products to small
businesses. The figure is based on initial estimates and Barclays said the
ultimate cost is uncertain.
Britain’s financial regulator said in June banks had agreed
to pay compensation to customers who were misled about the products.
Barclays said its statutory profits fell 71% to £759m including the fine, interest rate mis-selling charge and movement in the value of its own debt.
* Follow Fin24 on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
