British bank Barclays said today profits this year will be at the bottom of market forecasts in a tough trading environment that has brought a rise in bad loans.
Back in August, Barclays blamed a 6 per cent drop in half-year profits on bad-debt charges resulting from economic crisis in Argentina, where many banks have invested money, and a slump in the telecoms sector.
Analysts expect Barclays to report 2002 pre-tax profits of between £3.2 billion and £3.7 billion sterling, a company spokesman said. This compares with a restated 2001 profit of £3.4 billion.
Barclays shares closed at 452p yesterday. It has underperformed the DJ Stoxx European banking sector by about 7 per cent since the start of 2002.