Barclays posted a 4.9% rise in gross mortgage lending to £8.5bn in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter.  

The bank’s home loan portfolio now amounts to £166bn, which includes 47% of five-year and over fixed-rate loans. Another 29% are two-year fixes and 11% are landlord mortgages.  

Its mortgage net lending came in at £2.2bn “as new business exceeded redemptions” the lender said in a market statement covering the quarter to March 31. 

The lender added that it “maintained its stock market share as the purchase market remained strong”. 

Overall, the lender reported a 19% rise in pre-tax profit to £2.72bn in the period from a year ago. 

It increased provisions for bad debt to £643m from £513m a year ago, largely driven by £74m put by for “elevated US macroeconomic uncertainty”. 

The group said it “continues to monitor the heightened uncertainty in the near-term macroeconomic outlook, especially in the US”. 

Barclays group chief executive C. S. Venkatakrishnan said the firm’s results “represented another strong quarter of execution” and confirmed the lender is on track to meet its 2025 and 2026 guidance.