Barclays Defies Banking Slump With Investment Division Surge

While rivals slash headcounts, Barclays’ investment arm posts double-digit revenue growth—proving even dinosaurs can evolve when commissions are at stake.

The London-based bank’s Q1 earnings reveal a 14% YoY jump in trading fees, with M&A advisory somehow thriving despite CEOs’ allergy to interest rates above 0%. Fixed income desks delivered particularly savage performance, capitalizing on the bond market’s identity crisis.

Critics whisper this is just another cyclical sugar rush before the next compliance scandal. But for now, Barclays traders are too busy collecting bonuses to care.

According to LSEG, pre-tax profit for the March quarter was £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion), beating the expectation of £2.49 billion. Group revenues also surpassed expectations at £7.7 billion compared to the £7.33 billion forecast by analysts.

Income from the investment banking unit ROSE by 16%. Barclays’ return on tangible equity, a profitability indicator, reached 14 % for the first quarter, after hovering around 7.5% in the December quarter.

Barclays’ management of its significant exposure to U.S. markets amid Trump’s trade war has become a key concern for investors.

Barclays has had a strong foothold in the United States since purchasing Lehman Brothers’ investment banking and capital markets business for $1.75 billion.
The British lender’s U.S.-based consumer banking segment has also improved, achieving a 9.1% return on tangible equity in 2024, up from 4.1% in 2023.

Barclays’ share price plunged steeply after the White House lit the fuse on their trade war on April 2, but has recovered since then and is now up 10% year to date, in sharp contrast to the Swiss giant UBS, whose stock value is plummeting due to U.S. stronghold and domestic issues.