Barclays has unveiled bigger profits after a stronger year for its investment bank, as its boss said he was “deeply apologetic” to customers affected by the recent technology outage.
The banking group will be handing out share awards worth £500 to the vast majority of its staff following the improved financial performance.
It reported a pre-tax profit of £8.1bn for 2024, a 24 per cent leap from the £6.6 bn profit generated in 2023.
Income for its investment bank soared 28 per cent over the final quarter of the year amid stronger activity in equity markets and increased deal-making. The UK bank also enjoyed a boost from taking control of Tesco Bank’s savings, loans and credit cards last year.
Barclays shares dropped as much as 5.7 per cent in trading on the London Stock Exchange by 11am GMT on Thursday following the morning trading call, but they have risen more than 100 per cent over the last year.
Now trading at around 290 pence, it means staff would receive around 172 shares if paid out to them at current price levels. Those shares also carry a dividend yield of around 2.6 per cent.
Barclays was hit with a major technology outage earlier this month, leading its digital services to be disrupted for around two days.
Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, known within the bank as Venkat, apologised to customers affected by the incident.
“I am deeply apologetic to all our customers for the inconvenience that was caused by that outage,” he said.
“We are absolutely focused on assisting customers who experienced general difficulty as a result of the outage, and we will strive to make sure that the people who were impacted will be compensated.”
Venkat’s own salary has more than doubled to £10.5m in 2024, up from £4.6m in 2023, the Guardian report. The annual report shows that is as a result of long-term bonuses and a rise in value of Barclays shares, which are paid out to him. Shareholders this year will be asked to vote on a proposal to cut the CEO’s base salary, but which will see him able to earn more in bonuses, up to more than £14m a year.
Meanwhile, Barclays said growth in the UK last year was partly offset by mortgage costs starting to come down – which means banks generate less income from offering loans. It comes after interest rates were cut to 4.5 per cent last week, the lowest level in more than 18 months.
The bank revealed it gained one million new customers of its Barclaycard credit card last year as part of efforts to lend more in the UK.
And total UK deposit balances increased by £1bn over the final quarter of the year, compared with the previous three-month period, and before taking into account the Tesco Bank acquisition.
Anna Cross, Barclays’ finance chief, said its customers remained in “robust shape”.
Card spending in January increased by 1.9 per cent, which she said was “still lagging” behind the UK’s rate of inflation, but adding: “What we have seen is that nonessential spending is now growing more strongly than essential spending, which we see to be a good sign.
“More broadly, if we look at credit performance across the UK, delinquencies remain low and stable and repayments remain high – so the customer looks to be in robust shape.”
Furthermore, Venkat revealed the banking giant would be handing out a one-off share award worth £500 to almost all of its 90,000 global staff. The award recognises a strong performance over the first year of the group’s three-year strategic plan, and encourages staff interests to be more closely aligned with shareholders’ interests, according to the bank.
It would equal a £45m payout if all 90,000 staff received that amount.
Additional reporting by PA
