Barclays profit up to almost £3bn

Barclays has announced pre-tax profits of £2.98bn for the first half of 2009.
Profits for the year were slightly below analysts' forecasts of more than £3bn, but were up 8% on the £2.75bn it made in the first six months of 2008.

The results were boosted by the performance of its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, which saw profits double to more than £1bn.
But profits at Barclays' UK retail banking arm more than halved, falling to £268m, from £690m a year ago.

Bad debts almost doubled. Impairments and other credit provisions jumped to £4.56bn, up 86% from £2.45bn in the first half of 2008.
HSBC is also due to give its latest figures on Monday, with Lloyds and RBS reporting later in the week.

Investment banking 'back'

Neither Barclays nor HSBC have accepted government bail-outs.
Ralph Silva, banking analyst at Tower Group, said that not accepting government money would have contributed to Barclays Capital doing so well.

"Investment banking is back. If you are a big company you are going to gravitate towards the banks that have not received government funds," he said.
Profits at Barclays Capital rose to £1.05bn from £524m a year ago.
Barclays also said it had gained more investment banking clients thanks to the acquisition of some Lehman Brothers businesses in 2008.

'Strong performance'

The addition of some of the still-successful operations from Lehman Brothers also "increased significantly" Barclays' presence in the US, the bank said.
The US now accounts for about 40% of its income.

Barclays chief executive John Varley was upbeat on the bank's prospects for the rest of the year.
"The investments we have made, particularly in our international businesses, are driving very strong income performance and allowing us to absorb the consequences of the economic downturn," he said.
"Our goal for 2009 is very clear: we seek to deliver another year of solid profitability. Our first half performance is a good start to this."

-Nathan133