Barclays unveils shock $500m share buyback as Q3 profit falls 7%

(Sharecast News) - Barclays Bank launched an unexpected £500m share buyback, lifted its return on equity target and unveiled a plan to move to quarterly share buyback announcements. The bank posted a 7% fall in third quarter profit to £2bn, partly due to a higher £235m provision relating to the UK motor finance scandal, taking the total impairment to £325m.

Barclays also revealed what it called a "single name" credit impairment charge in its investment bank worth £110m.

The lender said it also planned to return at least £10bn of capital to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, through dividends and share buybacks, with a continued preference for the latter.

Its target for a return on equity was lifted to greater than 11% this year from around 11% due to higher-than-expected income and faster cost savings.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com