Barclays’ drive to strengthen the equities team at its investment banking division has finally provided a meaningful contribution to the UK bank’s overall profits, helping to stem industry-wide declines across fixed income, currencies and commodities.

Barclays Capital's equities and prime services division - an area on which the bank has focused strategically since mid-2009 - reported significant quarterly revenue growth, at £625m, which is the highest since the second quarter of 2009.