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BARCLAYS

Revamping Bad Debt Hit the Bottom Line

Barclays PLC said third-quarter net profit slipped as it put aside funds to cover bad debts and restructuring costs continued to hurt its bottom line.

The results were buoyed by a strong performance from Barclays's investment bank, helped by resurgent bond-trading revenue and a favorable exchange rate. This helped offset lower profit at its U.K. retail arm and higher bad-debt charges at its credit-card business.

Revenue totaled GBP5.5 billion ($6.74 billion), flat from a year earlier. Net profit was GBP414 million, down from GBP417 million. That beat analyst expectations. Barclays shares rose 4.8% in London.

--Max Colchester

COMMODITIES

Iraq: War With Isis Precludes Oil Cuts

Iraq is arguing that its intensifying war against Islamic State won't allow it to reduce oil output along with other OPEC members, threatening to derail an agreement reached in September.

The country is pushing for an exemption from an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pact that would cut output between 1% and 2% to make oil more scarce globally and shake prices out of a two-year slump.

The request was to be among a host of topics discussed in Vienna on Friday and Saturday as OPEC officials gather to lay the groundwork for the next official meeting on Nov. 30, officials said.

OPEC members Iran, Nigeria and Libya already have secured exemptions because they have faced petroleum-output disruptions -- including international sanctions against Tehran and pipeline sabotage in the Niger Delta.

Iraqi oil ministry officials say their country's military offensive to uproot ISIS justifies exempting its more than 4.5 million barrels a day of oil production from any OPEC agreement, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al-Luaibi said in an interview.

Iraqi forces have escalated the conflict in recent days, leading an offensive on the city of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, which has been under Islamic-State control.

"Iraq is suffering more than those countries that are exempted" because of the war, Mr. Luaibi said. "We want OPEC to be more unified...so that we reach our goal to stabilize the oil market to reach an appropriate price of oil," he said. "But it shouldn't be at the expense of Iraq."

--Selina Williams, Benoit Faucon, Summer Said

CREDIT UNIONS

Regulator to Ease Membership Rules

Credit unions would have more flexibility to expand their memberships under a rule approved by the industry's federal regulator.

The rule, which could draw a lawsuit from the banking industry, makes more than a dozen changes to the regulator's policies to broaden the way that credit unions can define their "field of membership," allowing them to serve larger geographic areas and employee groups.

The National Credit Union Administration's governing board approved the rule 2-0. It also proposed additional changes, including one that could allow certain credit unions to boost their presence in urban areas. The credit union membership rules have been a flashpoint in the long-running conflict between credit unions and small banks.

--Ryan Tracy

CANADIAN BANKING

Lender to Cut About 3% of Workforce

National Bank of Canada said it plans to cut 600 jobs, or just under 3% of its workforce, as customers continue to embrace online and mobile banking options.

Montreal-based National Bank, Canada's sixth-largest lender by assets, said the head-count reduction is part of an overall restructuring that will result in a fourth-quarter charge of about 128 million Canadian dollars ($96 million), or 38 cents a share.

The bank, which has almost 22,000 employees, had a profit in its most recent quarter ended in July of C$478 million, or C$1.31 a share. The fourth-quarter charge will cover employee severance payments and "premises optimization," the bank said.

"Our clients' habits are changing, and our services need to change with them," National Bank Chief Executive Louis Vachon said in a release.

The bank expects the moves to result in annual pretax savings of about C$120 million.

National Bank joins the ranks of other big Canadian lenders cutting costs and seeking more growth from digital channels as customer preferences shift.

--Judy McKinnon

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2016 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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