Barclays Cuts Risky Lending, Hit by £228 Million Mortgage Fraud Charge

Barclays is scaling back structured finance operations after first-quarter credit impairment charges reached £823 million ($1.1 billion).

The increase includes a £228 million charge tied to the collapse of UK mortgage broker Market Financial Solutions (MFS).

MFS is currently facing allegations of fraud.

CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan announced the bank will now restrict lending to clients with vulnerable business models or inadequate financial controls.

Barclays' overall first-quarter pretax profit rose 3% to £2.8 billion.

Strong performance in the investment banking division drove the profit growth.