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(Sharecast News) - Barclays reported a record £6.9bn of profit for the first nine months of 2021 as the bank released bad debt provisions made earlier in the pandemic.
Pretax profit for the three months to the end of September rose to £1.96bn from £1.15bn a year earlier as revenue increased to £5.47bn from £5.2bn. For the first nine months of 2021 profit was £6.9bn compared with £2.4bn a year earlier.
Barclays released a net £0.6bn of credit impairments in the first nine months of the year but set aside £120m in the third quarter compared with £608m a year earlier.
The corporate and investment bank's profit rose to £4.8bn in the first nine months of the year as revenue rose 1% to £9.7bn and the unit released £400m of provisions compared with a charge of £1.5bn a year earlier.
The group's common equity tier one capital ratio improved to 15.4% from 15.1% at the end of December and the bank said this augured well for returning cash to shareholders. The Barclays UK retail bank increased revenue by 2% to £4.8bn and released £306m of provisions compared with a charge of £1.3bn a year earlier.
Chief Executive Jes Staley said: "On top of a good first half, a strong third quarter performance means Barclays has delivered its highest Q3 YTD pre-tax profit on record in 2021, demonstrating the benefits of our diversified business model. While the CIB [corporate and investment bank] performance continues to be an area of strength for the group, we are also seeing evidence of a consumer recovery and the early signs of a more favourable rate environment.
"Our CET1 ratio of 15.4% means we are also in a strong position to balance this growth with a key priority of returning excess capital to shareholders."
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