Barclays PLC (BCS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Welcome to Barclays Q1 twenty twenty six Results Analyst and Investor Conference Call. I will now hand over to Siyath Venkateshukrishnan, Group Chief Executive, before I hand over to Anna Cross, Group Finance Director. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining Barclays' first quarter twenty twenty six results call. In February, I shared our vision for 2028 and beyond, and this was to deliver a better run, more strongly performing and higher returning Barclays. And this represented an intensification of the strategy, which we put in place in 2024. The first quarter results demonstrate the benefits of the structural improvements that we have been making in the last two years. These improvements allowed us to capture opportunities within each of our five divisions and particularly in the Investment Bank. The diversification of our income, the strength of our client relationships, the ongoing delivery of operational efficiency all underpin my confidence in achieving each of our 2026 and 2028 targets. We have delivered a group RoTE of 13.5% in the quarter. This demonstrates resilience through a period of elevated volatility and incorporates one off impairments and charges. We grew the top line by 6% to £8,200,000,000 supported by NII growth and strong activity across the Investment Bank. We improved the costincome ratio to 56%. RWAs in the investment bank increased modestly versus the fourth quarter to facilitate cyclical activity, with income surpassing 4,000,000,000 for the first time. Consistent capital generation and a 14.1% CET1 ratio support our plan to return at least £15,000,000,000 to shareholders by 2028, including today's £500,000,000 buyback announcement. While the external environment has changed, we remain true to our purpose, which is to work together w...