The profits of Britain's largest bank – Barclays – rose by 23% in the first half of the year, exceeding analysts' expectations, driven by a significant increase in trading revenues generated by market disruptions due to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Barclays announced that its pre-tax profits for the period from January to June reached £5.2 billion ($6.94 billion), surpassing the average analysts' forecast of £4.96 billion.
Barclays also revealed a £1 billion share buyback program, in addition to a semi-annual dividend of 3 pence per share, raising the total capital distributions to shareholders to £1.4 billion, an increase of 21% from last year.
The bank's CEO, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, stated in the announcement: "We remain on track to achieve our tri-annual plan goals and deliver higher and more stable returns to our investors."
However, the investment bank of the Barclays Group recorded strong performance in the second quarter, similar to major American banks, as market disruptions led to a notable increase in trading activity, especially in fixed income and equities.
