LONDON, March 26, 2026, 13:26 GMT
Barclays slipped 2.8% to 383.25 pence out of the gate Thursday, erasing the 2.64% it gained a day earlier, when shares closed at 394.20 pence.
Shares dipped just a day after Reuters said Barclays was retreating from certain smaller collateral-backed loans, following losses linked to the failures of Market Financial Solutions and Tricolor Holdings. The lender is pivoting to focus on larger corporate borrowers. According to Reuters, MFS owes Barclays 495 million pounds. Barclays wouldn’t comment.
Timing is key here. Investors are bracing for the Financial Conduct Authority’s motor-finance compensation plan, expected just after the market shuts on March 30. Reuters previously flagged that Barclays, Lloyds, Santander, and Close Brothers face potential fallout from the regulator’s wider proposal, which was initially pegged at 11 billion pounds last October.
Broader sentiment faltered as well. By 1013 GMT on Thursday, London’s FTSE 100 slid 1.1%, with Middle East tensions pressing on risk appetite. Bank stocks found scant protection.
Investors aren’t shrugging off fresh issues as isolated anymore. Back in February, when MFS jolted bank stocks, Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading, pointed out, “We’re starting to continue to see these types of things pop up, which is definitely a problem.” Barclays and Jefferies took hits, while Santander slid close to 5%. Reuters
It isn’t just Barclays feeling the squeeze. Jefferies disclosed this week that first-quarter profit took a $17 million blow from loan losses tied to MFS and bankrupt auto-parts supplier First Brands—underscoring how pain from these financing deals continues to show up on bank balance sheets.
That’s a tough fit with the bank’s long-term messaging. Back in February, Barclays posted 2025 pretax profit at 9.1 billion pounds, lifted its return on tangible equity target to above 14% by 2028, and outlined plans to hand back over 15 billion pounds of capital to shareholders through 2026-2028.
The outlook remains shaky. On Wednesday, Reuters noted that bonds from private-credit funds—those operating outside the public markets—are now trading at their lowest in a year. Fourier Asset Management described the situation as the sharpest liquidity crunch yet for the $2 trillion segment, raising the possibility that Barclays could still feel the pressure rippling through the sector, even if its own losses don’t get worse.
