Barclays group performance in terms of adjusted profit before tax increased by 12 per cent to £5.5bn in 2014, which the bank’s bosses said was driven by improvements in personal and corporate banking and Barclaycard.
The bank said in its annual results for 2014 released today (3 March) that this was partially offset by a reduction in the investment bank’s profits and adverse currency movements impacting African banking.
However, total operating expenses were down by 9 per cent to £18.07bn, which was driven by a 5 per cent net reduction in headcount and currency movements.
Elsewhere, the bank said in its statement that total mis-selling compensation costs decreased by 8 per cent to £8.9bn.
Before tax, statutory profit was £2.3bn - compared to 2013’s figure of £2.9bn, which the bank said reflected an additional £1.1bn net provision for payment protection insurance and interest rate hedged redress - in 2013 the figure was £2bn.
Barclays also said in its statement this reflected a gain made on US Lehman acquisition assets of £461m - in 2013 the figure was £259m.
A £1.25bn provision was made for ongoing investigations and litigation relating to Forex.
In the personal and corporate banking arena, loans and advances to customers increased 2 per cent to £217bn due to mortgage book growth and corporate loan book growth.
Risk-weighted assets increased 2 per cent to £120.2bn primarily driven by growth in mortgage and corporate lending, the statement said.
The provision for PPI redress was £1.1bn last year compared to 2013’s £971m.
The statement read: “This included the recognition of an additional amount of £200m in the fourth quarter of 2014 based on an updated estimate of future redress and associated costs. The remaining provision reflects Barclays’ best current estimate of future costs.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
