As far as can be gleaned from today's trading statement, Barclays may be delivering early on the asset reduction programme outlined at the time when it announced its rights issue.Crucially, and if one looks at the balance sheet, it is apparent how the leverage exposure declined by £78bn, of which £55bn looks seasonal (FX, settlement balances) and £20bn looks proactive (e.g. PFE & liquidity portfolio reductions), Jefferies explained to clients on Wednesday morning. That may mean that the group has delivered £20bn of its £65-80bn asset reduction programme.As regards profits before tax (PBT), at £1.49bn underlying third quarter profits did beat consensus expectations by a margin of 2%, as a 2% investment bank-led revenue miss was offset by better costs and materially better impairments (9% better than the Street, driven by Africa and Corporate banking).However, fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) revenues contracted at a 44% year-on-year clip (-34% ex Exit Quadrant assets), driving a 5% revenue miss in the investment bank. The other areas of the unit, however, performed well, as was the case with the pure global investment bank.Likewise, losses in the European Retail business of £106m were better than the broker's expectations for a £253m loss."We continue to regard the risk/reward of Barclays as attractive and reiterate our Buy recommendation", the broker concluded.AB