Barclays maintains strong growth
Barclays today said first quarter profits grew 15% after a record performance from its investment banking arm.
The group, which is planning a takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro, also benefited from “good growth” in profits at its UK retail banking business.
Commenting on the performance, chief executive John Varley said Barclays had made a strong start in the first three months of 2007.
He added: “We continued to deliver double-digit profit growth on top of the outstanding performance in 2006 and made further significant investments across our businesses.”
At Barclays Capital, the investment banking business maintained its strong recent record with its best quarter ever.
