Barclays profits rise 12% to £2.3bn as UK banks await budget tax hike
Barclays reported quarterly pre-tax profits of £2.3bn, up 12% from £2.1bn a year earlier, and announced a £500m share buyback days before Chancellor John Healey is due to announce a bank tax increase in the 28 October budget.
Barclays profits rise 12% to £2.3bn as UK banks await budget tax hike
Quarterly results and shareholder returns
Barclays logged £2.3bn in pre-tax profits for the July to September quarter, a 12% rise from the £2.1bn recorded in the same period last year. Alongside the results, the bank said it would hand a further £500m to shareholders through a share buyback.
Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the buyback takes the total returned to shareholders since January, through buybacks and dividends, to £2.8bn.
Where the income came from
Net interest income at Barclays' UK retail banking operations rose 6% to £2bn. This measure captures how much banks make from loan charges minus what they pay on deposits, and it is tied to interest rates. Rates have been rising as the Iran war drives up inflation expectations.
Budget tax hike looming
The results land days before the 28 October budget, where Chancellor John Healey is due to announce a hike on banks. The government under prime minister Andy Burnham is looking for ways to raise revenue to help fund cost of living support programmes, and Barclays is preparing itself for an increase in UK bank taxes at next week's budget.
TUC pressure for higher bank tax
The Trades Union Congress has been campaigning forcefully for a bank tax increase. General secretary Paul Nowak said Barclays' profits were not a one-off.
Barclays' bumper profits aren't an anomaly. All the big banks are doing exceptionally well at the same time.
He argued that banks' windfall profits have been underpinned by mortgage misery for millions and that it is time for banks to pay a fairer share. According to Nowak, Britain's big four banks have made £200bn in profit since 2021 and can – and should – pay more tax, with the chancellor needing more revenue to support households and businesses through a looming energy bill crunch.
Barclays now steels itself for the tax increase at the 28 October budget, where John Healey is due to announce the hike.
