Barclays has signalled a major cost-cutting drive in the wake of a profit drop in Q3.
The bank’s pretax profit fell by 4% on the previous year to nearly £1.9bn. It said competition on savings rates had impacted its high street business. Income at its investment banking arm has also decreased.
Group chief executive Coimbatore Sundararajan Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, did not give details of the cuts but said there would be “material additional charges” in the final quarter. The plans will be set out in February.
Barclays has closed a string of bank branches in recent months. Around 180 will close by the end of this year, which is more than a third of its UK network. The bank has also cut hundreds of staff this year.
The Times (£)
The Telegraph (£)
