20 February 2024 , 08:21
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Barclays has announced a dip in its yearly earnings as it spent £1 billion over 2023 on restructuring the bank.
The bank shared plans to reorganise the business, aiming to increase profits and cut costs. It reported a pre-tax profit of £6.6 billion over 2023, which was 6% lower than the previous year and slightly below what analysts expected.
In the last quarter, its profit dropped by 92% from £1.3 billion the previous year to £110 million. This drop came as the bank revealed £927 million worth of structural cost actions in the final quarter, including £300 million related to staff.
Barclays said this involved "rightsizing" its headcount, having previously announced it cut 5,000 full-time roles last year. The bank's chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, said: "Our new three-year plan, which we will be announcing at the investor update today, is designed to further improve Barclays' operational and financial performance, driving higher returns, and predictable, attractive shareholder distributions."
This marks the first major strategy update for several years for the banking giant and has been much anticipated by investors. Barclays also announced plans to return at least £10 billion to shareholders over the next two years, through dividends and share buybacks.
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