July 28, 2023: On Thursday, Barclays said it desires to earn less interest in its U.K. division, as analysts lagged the bank’s “modestly disappointing” results.

Despite slower momentum in investment banking, the British lender reported a net income of £1.3 billion for the second quarter, in line with anticipations.

Analysts were expecting a net income of £1.4 billion for the quarter, according to Refinitiv. The bank reported a profit of £1.78 billion in the year’s first quarter.

The domestic division and the consumer and cards arm supported the second-quarter performance. Both saw revenues higher in the quarter, up 14% and 18%, respectively. But, in the future, Barclays said that it expects a lower net interest margin in its domestic bank, meaning that it will likely receive less money from the interest it makes on loans and the interest it pays on deposits.

In addition, investment banking revenues dropped by 3% due to lower client activity

C.S. Venkatakrishnan, group chief executive, told Europe that the expected decrease in net interest margins is due to some customers using their savings to repay their mortgage loans. This is ultimately a positive for the bank, reducing the chances that people will miss their payments.

Venkatakrishnan added that the U.K. consumer is worried and prudent but not under stress.

The Barclays team also revealed plans for a share buyback of up to £750 million.

“The £750m buyback is the silver lining in what was a modestly disappointing quarter for revenue,” analysts at Jefferies said in a note.

Venkatakrishnan said: “We have positioned Barclays carefully for this mixed macroeconomic environment and delivered a consistent performance in the second quarter.”

“Looking forward, we are very confident of meeting our targets for the full year,” he added.