Barclays has revealed it set aside more than £800 million for bad debts related to a fraudulent customer and as it builds a buffer amid ongoing geopolitical turmoil, despite reporting an uptick in earnings for the first quarter.
Impairment charge and fraud impact
The £823 million provision for loans expected to turn sour was increased from £643 million a year ago. The banking group’s impairment charge was largely driven by a one-off loss surrounding a single customer within its investment bank. It is understood that this refers to the collapse of UK property lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) earlier this year amid allegations of fraud.
Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, known within the bank as Venkat, said he was “disappointed” by the hit which related to a “well-publicised sophisticated fraud”. It has resulted in the bank “constraining lending to certain structured finance counterparties who operate more vulnerable business models”, he added.
Geopolitical uncertainty and profit rise
Barclays also said that “geopolitical uncertainty persists” which was reflected in the buffer, with Venkat saying the group was “vigilant about the inflationary impact of the rising energy crisis” linked to the war in Iran. Nevertheless, Barclays reported a pre-tax profit of £2.8 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up 3% on the same period last year. This was driven by a 6% jump in income, with its UK bank, corporate division and investment bank all making more money, as well as its US consumer bank. UK lending increased by 5% year-on-year and card balances jumped by 8%.
