Bank shareholders eye returns as Barclays and NatWest report Shareholders in two of the UK’s biggest banks will be hoping for further returns next week as they shed light on recent trading amid an uncertain economic backdrop.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Barclays has more exposure to the US than other UK banks, so there will be focus on how its US credit card customers are keeping up with repayments, as well as the usual eyes on UK loan default levels which have been robust of late.
Recent positive trading means it is forecast to declare a dividend of 8.6p per share, handing a total of £3 billion back to shareholders when combined with £1.8 billion in share buybacks.
A consensus of analysts have predicted Barclays will report a pre-tax profit of £8.1 billion for the year, up from £6.6 billion a year earlier.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at NatWest, said: “NatWest has been on a roll, with its share price doubling over the past year.
