Shares at Barclays fell on Tuesday after the bank reported a 10 per cent decrease in post-tax profits.

In the third quarter, which covers the three months to 30 September, profits were down from £1.7 billion in the same 12-week period of 2022 to £1.5 billion.

The bank said that it is now evaluating ways to reduce structural costs to help drive future returns, which it warned could lead to further “material charges” in the final quarter of the year.

Barclays UK Net Interest Margin (NIM), which measures how much money a financial institution earns in interest on loans in comparison to what it is forking out for interest on deposits, is now anticipated to be in the range of 3.05 per cent to 3.10 per cent this year. This is a decline on the previously expected 3.15 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

"We delivered an 11 per cent [return on tangible equity] RoTE in the third quarter, against a mixed market backdrop, as we continued to manage credit well, remained disciplined on costs and maintained a strong capital position, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 14 per cent," said C. S. Venkatakrishnan, group chief executive. "We see further opportunities to enhance returns for shareholders through cost efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation across the Group."

The chief executive added that Barclays is planning an investor update during its full year results, which will include revised financial targets.

The results come after profits at the bank dipped by nearly a fifth in its previous financial year.

Recent reports have claimed that Barclays is in the process of drawing up plans to axe hundreds of jobs.

Last month, Reuters said that the bank was looking to cut costs at a time where it is considering a wider review of its strategy.

One source revealed that as many as 400 jobs could be cut from Barclays’ domestic retail business, while another said that an as-yet undetermined number of investment bankers could be axed.

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