Barclay Plc has reported a significant 27% rise in net profit for the first quarter of this year, surpassing expectations and achieving a 27% increase year-on-year. This comes after a turbulent period within the global banking sector, which witnessed the collapse of U.S.-based Silicon Valley Bank and several other regional lenders in early March, as well as Credit Suisse's hasty takeover by Swiss rival UBS.
In light of these events, Deutsche Bank managed to report an impressive first-quarter net profit of 1.158 billion euros ($1.28 billion), exceeding their consensus forecast of 864.54 million euros. The bank had found itself briefly caught up in last month’s banking volatility when its stock prices plummeted and credit default swaps rose sharply.
As market watchers shift their focus onto UK banks this week following First Republic's announcement regarding heavier-than-expected deposit outflows during Q1, Barclays has much to celebrate with its strong performance amidst challenging times.
The British bank recorded a first quarter profit of £2.6 billion ($3.25 billion) – higher than both the average analyst forecast of £2 billion and last year's Q1 results (£2.2 billion). Additionally, Barclay reported pretax profits amounting to $3.5 billion; thereby offsetting pressure on key business lines.
A contributing factor behind these positive figures is Barclays' consumer cards and payments division that achieved an astounding revenue growth rate at 47%, reaching £1.3 billion thanks to increasing credit card balances driven partly by acquiring retailer Gap's portfolio last year.
Investment banking saw mixed results with income from global markets trading businesses sliding down by 8%, while fees gained from advising corporate deals also experienced a decrease at around -7%.
Overall, despite enduring challenges faced by the global banking sector, Barclay Plc's impressive first quarter results have been met with optimism from both investors and market analysts.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.