BCS Barclays PLC

By Adam Clark

Barclays PLC (BARC.LN) said Thursday that litigation and conduct charges dragged it to a loss in the first quarter of 2018 as it set aside an additional 400 million pounds ($557.7 million) for claims related to mis-sold payment protection insurance.

The U.K.-based lender booked a net loss of GBP764 million for the three months to March 31. Barclays' pretax loss was GBP236 million compared with a GBP1.68 billion profit for the same period in 2017.

Barclays' results were hit by the PPI charge, as well as booking its $2 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over claims of fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Excluding litigation and conduct charges, Barclays said its pretax profit rose 1% to GBP1.73 billion, with a decrease in impairment charges and operating expenses offset by a reduction in income. The bank's return on tangible equity was 11%, after excluding litigation and conduct costs.

Quarterly total income fell 8% to GBP5.36 billion, which Barclays said was driven the non-recurrence of one-off benefits in its international segment.

Barclays said its corporate-and-investment bank made a pretax profit of GBP1.18 billion, up from GBP790 million the prior year, benefiting from higher equities and markets income. Fixed-income, currencies and commodities income fell 2% to GBP869 million.

The corporate-and-investment unit has come under scrutiny following the disclosure of a stake taken in Barclays by Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) B Ltd. (SIGB.LN), a vehicle of activist investor Edward Bramson, and British media reports that he may push for a selloff of part of its operations.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com; @AdamDowJones

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2018 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)

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