British bank Barclays on Thursday announced a 38% slump in net profit for 2020 and said expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic were set to stay high this year.Group credit impairment charges shot up to £4.8 billion from £1.9 billion owing"to the deterioration in the economic outlook driven by the Covid-19 pandemic", the bank said.
As well as offering a dividend to shareholders, Barclays said it would buy back shares at a cost of up to £700 million.At the same time, the bank said that"Covid-19 related expenses are likely to remain elevated in 2021". "The announced share buyback of £700 million should lend some support to the share price and is indicative of management confidence in prospects."
Stock markets have surged in recent months on economic recovery hopes following the production of Covid-19 vaccines that governments worldwide are starting to roll out."Right now there is no plan to make a major real estate move" regarding Barclays' headquarters in London, he said, amid expectations that office staff in general could continue working from home even after vaccination.