Barclays likely hit by bad loan losses in Q1 results
The UK lender will unveil its first quarter results on Wednesday, with British banks likely to suffer significant losses from bad loans this earnings season.
Barclays will unveil its first quarter (Q1) results on Wednesday 29 April, though investors are expecting it and other UK banks to be hit hard by bad loans, damaging their respective capital positions amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Acting proactively, the Bank of England (BoE) has urged Barclays and other UK lenders to be lenient on borrowers and show restraint in booking charges for bad debts in a bid to shore up their balance sheets.
Across the Atlantic, the top six largest US banks have allocated over $25 billion in total for the first quarter in preparation of major losses as a consequence of the economic fallout from the viral pandemic.
As a result, the BoE is concerned that UK banks will take similar action which would significantly hinder their ability to lend to businesses in desperate need of cash.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Barclays and other UK banks earnings to see just how much the coronavirus outbreak has impacted their financial performance and their ability to support the wider economy.
PRA requests UK banks suspend dividend
Much to the disappointment of shareholders, Britain’s largest lenders complied with guidance from the Bank of England (BoE) and suspended dividend pay-outs in 2020.
Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Santander and Standard Chartered all said that they would cancel their dividends for the 2019 financial year and agreed to refrain from making any pay-outs to shareholders in 2020. The banks even promised to cancel any share buyback initiatives too.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the supervisory division of the BoE, welcomed the dividend cancellations and not having to take any formal action against any UK banks.
The PRA hopes that by keeping cash on lenders balance sheets, rather than in shareholders pockets, it will help the industry offset some of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
The regulator also expects banks not to pay any cash bonuses to senior staff over the coming months.
How to trade stocks with IG
Looking to trade Barclays and other stocks? Open a live or demo account with IG and buy (long) or sell (short) the asset using derivatives like CFDs in a few easy steps:
Create an IG trading account or log in to your existing account
Enter ‘Barclays’ in the search bar and select it
Choose your position size
Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
Confirm the tradw
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.
Act on stock opportunities today
Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with CFDs.
- Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
- Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
- Get greater order book visibility with direct market access
See opportunity on a stock?
Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.
- Log in to your demo
- Try a risk-free trade
- See whether your hunch pays off
See opportunity on a stock?
Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.
- Trade a huge range of popular stocks
- Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
- See and react to breaking news in-platform
See opportunity on a stock?
Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take advantage while conditions prevail.
Live prices on most popular markets
- Forex
- Shares
- Indices
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.