Banks: `The worst is over` & bad debts have `peaked`
12 November 2009
Two of Britain`s biggest banks, HSBC and Barclays, have both claimed that the rise in bad debts has `peaked`, the Telegraph reports.
At Barclays, bad debts (debts which won`t be repaid) have risen sharply in the past nine months - jumping 65% to £6.2bn. However, despite the `deteriorating economy`, the `increase in provisions` has slowed in the past three months, which is seen as a positive sign by the bank and suggested `the worst may be over`.
The bank said that bad debts this year `would be at the bottom end of earlier forecasts of £9bn-£9.6bn`.
Meanwhile, chief executive at HSBC, Mark Geoghegan, said: "I believe that the biggest jolt has now passed through the global economy. But it is too early to claim victory, especially while unemployment is still rising in the West."
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Tags: banks, debt, HSBC, Barclays
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