The Barclays boss said the economy enjoyed a ‘featherbed landing’ as the bank reported an 18 per cent rise in quarterly profits to £2.2 billion.
Shares rose 4.2 percent, or 9.9 pence, to 248 pence – a nine-year high as its consumer finance business performed well and its investment banking business was supported by a surge in corporate deals.
Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the British and US economies were “close to a soft landing”, with authorities able to bring inflation under control without triggering a recession.
“I’ve sometimes called it a ‘featherbed landing’, it’s that soft,” the Barclays boss said.
Soft comedown: Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan (pictured) said the UK and US economies are ‘approaching what someone might reasonably call a soft landing’
He pointed to low unemployment and economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
Investment banking revenues rose 13 percent, he said, due to “some large transactions that we have been a significant part of.”
The bank advised on deals such as Indian telecoms giant Bharti Global taking a 25 percent stake in BT, and Verizon buying its US rival Frontier Communications for £15 billion.
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