Barclays warns coronavirus pandemic could cost it £2.1bn

Barclays has warned the coronavirus pandemic could cost it some £2.1bn, largely due to customers being unable to repay their loans.

The firm said it was setting the money aside to cover its “initial estimates” of the impact of the virus.

The impairment charge meant its profits for the first three months of 2020 dived 38% to £913m, it said.

Barclays said on Wednesday the impact of the pandemic “came late in what was until that point a good quarter”.

But it said that despite the challenging environment, it was well placed to get through the crisis.

On Tuesday rival lender HSBC reported a 50% fall in profits linked to the pandemic.

HSBC had forecast that bad loans would rise to $3bn (£2.4bn) due to customers not being able to repay them during the crisis.

Read more via Barclays Bank