Net income in the private bank and wealth management division was broadly stable in the first three months of the year; at group level, attributable profit rose. Shares in the lender slipped this morning.

The private bank and wealth management arm of UK-listed Barclays today reported pre-tax profit of £92 million ($124.3 million) in the first quarter of 2026, down from £113 million a year earlier. On an attributable basis, profit dipped to £73 million from £96 million, Barclays said.

Net interest income held steady in Q1 at £204 million; net fee, commission and other income dipped to £143 million from £145 million. Total operating costs rose to £257 million from £236 million. Operating costs rose over the reporting period. The cost/income ratio widened to 74 per cent from 68 per cent.

Barclays said this business division’s income was broadly stable, as growth from higher client balances was offset by the impact of deposit mix.

Assets under management dipped to £51.6 billion at end-March versus the end of 2025 but were up from £47.8 billion a year before. Assets under supervision were £83.8 billion, down from £87.7 billion at end-2025 but up from £76.6 billion at end-March 2025.

Group results
At the level of the overall bank, attributable profit rose 4 per cent year-over-year to £1.932 billion; total income rose 6 per cent to £8.163 billion in Q1; total operating costs rose 4 per cent to £4.547 billion. Return on average tangible shareholders’ equity dipped to 13.5 per cent from 14 per cent; the cost/income ratio narrowed to 56 per cent from 57 per cent. 

Shares in Barclays dropped more than 3 per cent today, fetching around 414 pence per share around 9:30 am local UK time. Since the start of January, they have weakened by 13.6 per cent. 

At the end of March, Barclays had a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 14.1 per cent, up a touch from a year before. Its leverage ratio slightly decreased.

The bank announced a £500 million share buyback programme today.

"Top line income grew 6 per cent year-on-year, driven by broad based divisional performance including in the investment bank, where we generated over £4 billion quarterly income for the first time,” CS Venkatakrishnan, group CEO, said.

“The breadth and quality of our businesses mean we remain confident in delivering all our financial targets across a range of environments. This includes greater than 12 per cent RoTE [return on tangible equity] in 2026 and greater than 14 per cent RoTE in 2028,” he said. 

Targets
Looking ahead for 2028, the lender said it intends to return greater than £15 billion of capital to shareholders between 2026 and 2028, through dividends and share buybacks. It is aiming at income growth, on a compound annual rate, of 5 per cent from 2025 to 2028. Barclays is also aiming to achieve a cost/income ratio in the low 50s in percentage terms.