Barclays Q1 net up 15% to 1.37 bn pounds

British banking entity Barclays Plc has reported a 15 per cent jump in first quarter profits at 1.37 billion pounds even as the bank incurred substantial write downs during the same period.

Barclays, which refused to take money from the government, is the latest to record robust performance in the first quarter, following the likes of Standard Chartered and a clutch of US banks like Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

For the three months ended March 31, 2009, Barclays has posted a profit before tax of 1.37 billion pounds, climbing 15 per cent as compared to the year-ago period.

In the corresponding quarter a year ago, the same stood at 1.19 billion pounds.

The bank in an interim management statement today said that gross write downs were 2.61 billion pounds in the first quarter.

The good first quarter performance was mainly bolstered by a 79 per cent rise in income at Investment Banking and Investment Management, which was driven by Barclays Capital.

However, the income was partially offset by slightly lower income at Barclays Global Investors and Barclays Wealth as a result of challenging equity markets, the statement said.