MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Barclays announces £1 billion write down and lower profits

Britain's Barclays has taken a further one billion sterling write-down on assets and confirmed profits for the first quarter of 2008 will be lower than last year. Last month, the bank warned that tough trading in its investment bank division Barclays Capital during March would cut group profits for the quarter.

But Barclays did not ask shareholders for additional cash in a rights issue as some of its rivals have done. Banks are still suffering the credit crisis and are keen to raise capital. Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley have all approached their investors to ask for extra cash to shore up their balance sheet to repair credit-related losses. With the Bank of England's latest inflation report painting a gloomy picture for the UK's economic prospects, the banks are also keen to prepare against falling demand for their services. Barclays did not disclose the extent of its profits fall in the first quarter, but said that Barclays Capital was profitable "despite the difficult trading conditions. In related news France's Credit Agricole reported a big fall in three month profits and confirmed that it is to raise 5.9 billion Euros from its shareholders. Net profit for the first three months of the year came in at 892 million Euros, down 66% from the same period last year. It was hit by a 1.2 billion Euro write-down caused by investments linked to US sub-prime mortgages at its investment banking arm Calyon. It also plans to sell about 5 billion Euros of assets over the next 18 months. "The rights issue will be launched before the summer, subject to market conditions," the French bank said in a statement. The 1.2 billion Euros write-down comes on top of the 4.3 billion Euros written off last year