Barclays yesterday insisted that growth prospects for its investment banking arm remained good despite being forced to write off £1.3bn as a result of the turmoil in the credit markets. Financial times, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Guardian
Bob Diamond, Barclays president, said that he expected Barclays Capital to continue its expansion following months of upheaval triggered by the meltdown in the US subprime mortgage market.
Diamond’s bullish stance is in stark contrast with that of some other investment bankers, who have warned that the credit squeeze may lead to an economic slowdown that could trigger further losses.
Diamond insisted that Barclays would not change its approach. In spite of the writeoffs, Barclays Capital generated record profits of £1.9bn in the 10 months to the end of October, helped by booming activity in the foreign exchange and commodities markets.
'We feel pretty good that this is one of those cycles we worry about, and we have continued to grow through the cycle,' he said.