Barclays PLC (BCS) Chief Executive John Varley said Tuesday that the bank expects the return on capital at its investment banking business to be on the bottom of the 15% to 20% target range "through the cycle."

"As a result of the requirement for larger amounts of capital to be held by the business, I think it's clear that we would be operating at the bottom of that range, rather than at the top of that range," Varley told investors at a conference in London.

"But we do feel that that sort of return is something that we expect Barclays Capital to be able to generate," he added, without being more specific about the timing.

-By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel +44(0)207-842-9295, patricia.kowsmann@dowjones.com