Barclays' profits fall 3%, bonus pool shrinks by 26%

Barclays made a pre-tax profit of £5.879bn in the year to 31 December 2011, 3% down from the previous year and a slightly larger fall than analysts had forecast.

Adjusted profit before tax was £5.59bn down 2% from 2010. Barclays has cut bonuses across the group by 26%, with total bonuses payments across Barclays Capital down 35% for the year. The bank’s dividend per share climbed 9% to 6p from the previous year, and its core tier one ratio rose from 10.8% to 11%. It also reduced sovereign exposure to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece from £8.2b to £7.1bn for the reporting period. There was no immediate news on the bonus for its chief executive Bob Diamond, who had been reportedly in line for an incentive worth several million pound...