Barclays' latest numbers add up to a curate's egg. In a terrible third quarter for investment banks, Barclays did relatively well. But by the end of September, chief executive Bob Diamond had already axed 3,500 posts -- 500 more than previously expected for the whole year. That's inauspicious for rivals.
Barclays Capital, the UK lender's investment banking unit, held up creditably in the three months to September 30. Equities were the big loser, suffering a 40 percent revenue decline quarter-on-quarter, against the sector's 14 percent. The flagship fixed income, currencies and commodities division beat expectations. Revenue here fell 16 percent to 1.4 billion pounds, against an average 41 percent industry decline so far.
And yet Diamond is managing Barclays defensively. He has slashed 2,100 jobs since June alone, and expects the reductions to continue. BarCap will not be immune it was the only part of Barclays where pre-tax profits fell.
Indeed, a bias towards cutting expensive BarCap staff would explain why Diamond is now bullish about exceeding his 1 billion pound cost savings target.