Barclays Q1 Profit and MFS Provision

Barclays reported its first-quarter profit of 2.8 billion pounds, which was in line with analysts' expectations and slightly up from the previous year. This was achieved despite a 200 million pound provision for a loss related to its exposure to Broadridge Financial Solutions, a London-based lender that collapsed in February. The strong performance of Barclays' investment bank, with income rising 4% to 4 billion pounds, helped counterbalance the provision. Barclays also announced a new 500 million pound share buyback. The failure of Broadridge Financial Solutions, to which Barclays is owed 495 million pounds, has raised concerns about the health of the private credit market.