Interest rates: Barclays income from consumers surges as homeowners pay higher loans

Barclays (BARC.L) posted a reported pretax profit of £2.6bn for the first quarter as higher interest rates bolstered its income in the UK.

Income from the bank’s consumer division were up 47%, compensating for just 1% growth in its corporate and investment bank division.

Investment banking was more mixed, with income from the global markets trading business sliding 8% and fees from advising on corporate deals also down 7%.

The bank reported pre-tax profit of £2.6bn, above the average analyst forecast of £2.2bn, and higher than the £2.2bn it reported at the same time last year.

It also saw its net interest income for the UK business – the difference between what a bank earns from loans and pays for savings – surge by a fifth compared to the same quarter last year, to £1.6bn.

Read more: UK banks: Here’s what to expect from Q1 results

CS Venkatakrishnan, Barclays group chief executive, said: “This is a strong first quarter with group income up 11% to £7.2bn and profit before tax up 16% to £2.6bn, generating a group return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 15% and earnings per share (EPS) of 11.3p.

“All three businesses have performed well with high quality income growth and double-digit returns.

“The momentum across the group allows us to maintain a robust capital position, deliver attractive returns to shareholders and support our customers and clients through an uncertain economic environment.”

Bad debt provisions increased to £524m from £141m reflecting higher US cards balances and the continuing normalisation anticipated in US cards delinquencies.

Watch: Barclays lend less to mortgage seekers after Truss mini-budget

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