Another bank in the UK today announces a write down, Barclays today has announced in its trading statement to the city that it expects profits drop following a "write-down on assets tarnished by the credit crunch".

Barclays Capital's credit market exposures resulted in an overall hit of £1.7 billion, with £700 million recovered through gains on the valuation of notes issued by the division. The net losses included £598 million of write-downs on specific loans, although the investment banking business remained profitable in the first quarter.

Reuters reported "Britain's third-biggest bank said on Thursday the write-down for its investment bank arm Barclays Capital was net of a 700 million pound gain on the fair valuation of debt it carries on its own books. The write-down was less than the hit taken by many other banks."

Speculation of rights issue for Barclays which would follow recent examples of RBS, HBOS and Bradford Bingley still abate; with the Barclays chairman Chris Lucas stating "taking nothing off the table".

Barclay’s shares at 10am were 421.25p down 6p (1.4%)