MILAN (Reuters) - BofA Global Research downgraded Barclays (LON:BARC) to underperform on Thursday, citing uncertainty over the UK bank's restructuring and near-term risks to capital distributions.
"A potential material, but unspecified, restructuring charge to deliver unspecified benefits over an unspecified time period adds to uncertainty about Barclays strategy and financial target," wrote analysts at the U.S. bank.
"This could improve longer-term profitability, but seems unlikely to address the core issue of c70% of capital tied up in the lower returning Corporate & Investment Bank," they added.
Barclays on Tuesday said it would embark on another restructuring round in the coming months to mitigate the effects of margin pressure from competition in the savings market and another lacklustre performance from its investment bank.
Barclays shares have lost over 17% so far in 2023 and on Thursday, were down 1.3%, in their seventh straight daily fall.