Barclays share price: Group mulls push into debt trading

Barclays (LON:BARC) is considering a push into riskier debt trading and a return to dealing in complex credit products in the US, Bloomberg has revealed. The news comes as the FTSE 100 group prepares to update investors on its third-quarter performance on Thursday.

Barclays’ share price has been steady in London in today’s session, having added 0.56 percent to 196.55p as of 14:34 BST, outperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which has slipped marginally into the red and currently stands 0.02 percent lower at 7,523.08 points. The group’s shares have added more than seven percent to their value over the past year, but have given up some 12 percent in the year-to-date.

Barclays could hire more traders

A source with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg today that Adeel Khan, Barclays’ trader who has driven rapid growth in credit trading over the past two years, may hire more staff and allocate capital in the FTSE 100 lender’s small distressed business, which has historically lagged US rivals. Executives reportedly also want to expand in US structured credit, especially collateralised debt obligations, building on recent success with the instruments in Europe.

The move comes as Barclays’ chief executive Jes Staley looks to encourage the investment bank to take more risks and recapture market share after years of retrenchment.

UBS flags modest income growth at CIB

Barclays is scheduled to update investors on its third-quarter performance on Thursday and Interactive Investor reports that analysts at UBS expect modest income growth at the group’s corporate investment banking services division, as well as a three-percent fall in disclosed costs next year.

The results will come as the lender continues to await the outcome of a regulatory investigation into its chief executive Jes Staley over his attempts to uncover a whistleblower.

As of 14:58 BST, Tuesday, 24 October, Barclays share price is 196.50p.