Barclays has outlined plans for a £2billion cost-cutting overhaul after reporting a drop in pre-tax profits.
The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £6.6billion over 2023 today, which is six per cent lower than the previous year and a slightly larger drop than analysts were forecasting.
Over the final three months of last year, profits dropped by 92 per cent to £110million from £1.3billion in 2022 in the wake of restructuring efforts, which has included bank branch closures.
Following today’s announcement, Barclays was slammed for “ruthlessly cutting branches” in recent years.
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The bank will carry out a £2billion cost-cutting overhaul to bolster the business
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Between 2024 and 2025, Barclays is expected to close 96 bank branches across the country, with 68 sites shutting down this year.
To improve its financial performance, the banking giant has confirmed a structural shake-up and is targeting savings efficiency totalling £2billion by 2026.
This comes following £1billion already being spent on restructuring costs last year which impacted branches, offices, infrastructure and staff.
Some £300million of this sum was spent on “rightsizing” its headcount, the bank has previously confirmed.
It revealed it cut about 5,000 full-time jobs across the global business over 2023, largely affecting back office and support roles.
CS Venkatakrishnan, the bank’s chief executive, said: “Our new three-year plan, which we will be announcing at the investor update today, is designed to further improve Barclays’ operational and financial performance, driving higher returns, and predictable, attractive shareholder distributions.”
Furthermore, the bank has announced plans to return at least £10billion to shareholders over the next two years, through dividends and share buybacks.
A full list of the bank branches being closed down by Barclays over the next year can be found here.
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Fears have arisen over potential job losses as a result of the cost-cutting measures
GETTYGB News has contacted Barclays for comment.