London — Profit at Barclays fell 10% in the first quarter as its under-pressure investment bank struggled with tough markets, prompting it to signal further cost cuts if these conditions persist. The poor investment banking performance comes at an awkward time for CEO Jes Staley, who is locked in a public battle with activist investor Edward Bramson who wants to see the unit pared back to boost overall returns at Barclays. Barclays said on Thursday that returns in the investment banking business fell to 9.5% from 13.2% a year ago, while its overall profit was £1.54bn. Although this was in line with the £1.57bn forecast compiled from the average estimates of 13 analysts polled by the bank, shares in Barclays were down 1.43% at 7.30am GMT. “Despite a better-than-expected result in fixed-income trading, today’s numbers will do little to take the pressure from activist Edward Bramson off the board,” said Nicholas Hyett, analyst at one of Britain’s biggest online investment platforms, Ha...
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