The lending criteria to the United Kingdom economy has been tightened by Barclays in face of the economy not doing as good as the rest of the peers.
UK economy is being stunted by Brexit related uncertainties and that was an issue that the bank has not been able to ignore, said Chief executive of the lender, Jes Staley.
Speaking to a television channel in an interview, he said: "we have to be mindful of weaknesses in the economy and we have protect the integrity of the bank".
That meant tightening some lending criteria, "just to be prudent".
"In no way do we pull back in a radical fashion - but we will look at our credit exposures and see whether that's proper given the direction of the economy," Mr Staley said.
"We can at the margin tighten some of our underwriting criteria and credit standards just to be prudent for the stability of the bank."
The growth in the UK economy is very slow. Compared to the growth rate of comparable economies of the US with a growth rate of 2.2 per cent and the 2.5 per cent for the eurozone, the growth rate for the British economy in the last 12 months has been just 1.2 per cent.
Citing and example, Staley said that tightened measures could include ascertaining the amount of loan that can be given by the bank to provide as a percentage of the value of a residential property – which is also known as the loan to value ratio, specifically in areas such as London and the South East.
The bank however announced loans for local businesses worth £500 million and that announcement was made in London by Staley.
But for the lender that has a portfolio of more than £1 trillion in UK loans, the more telling point to be noted form his visit was the warning issued by him on the UK economy, and the risk taking appetite for Barclays with respect to the UK.
It has already been accepted by the UK government that while Brexit negotiations is underway, there will cautiousness among business – especially foreign one about investing in the country.
The Prime Minister was made aware of such sentiments by a group of European industrialists at a meeting that was held earlier in the week at Number 10.
But what is new is the explicit expression of concern about the exposure to the UK economy by a UK bank like Barclays because of the headwinds generated by Brexit.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
UK economy is being stunted by Brexit related uncertainties and that was an issue that the bank has not been able to ignore, said Chief executive of the lender, Jes Staley.
Speaking to a television channel in an interview, he said: "we have to be mindful of weaknesses in the economy and we have protect the integrity of the bank".
That meant tightening some lending criteria, "just to be prudent".
"In no way do we pull back in a radical fashion - but we will look at our credit exposures and see whether that's proper given the direction of the economy," Mr Staley said.
"We can at the margin tighten some of our underwriting criteria and credit standards just to be prudent for the stability of the bank."
The growth in the UK economy is very slow. Compared to the growth rate of comparable economies of the US with a growth rate of 2.2 per cent and the 2.5 per cent for the eurozone, the growth rate for the British economy in the last 12 months has been just 1.2 per cent.
Citing and example, Staley said that tightened measures could include ascertaining the amount of loan that can be given by the bank to provide as a percentage of the value of a residential property – which is also known as the loan to value ratio, specifically in areas such as London and the South East.
The bank however announced loans for local businesses worth £500 million and that announcement was made in London by Staley.
But for the lender that has a portfolio of more than £1 trillion in UK loans, the more telling point to be noted form his visit was the warning issued by him on the UK economy, and the risk taking appetite for Barclays with respect to the UK.
It has already been accepted by the UK government that while Brexit negotiations is underway, there will cautiousness among business – especially foreign one about investing in the country.
The Prime Minister was made aware of such sentiments by a group of European industrialists at a meeting that was held earlier in the week at Number 10.
But what is new is the explicit expression of concern about the exposure to the UK economy by a UK bank like Barclays because of the headwinds generated by Brexit.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
