Barclays’ trading unit produced its best ever year in 2020, even as the Covid-19 crisis forced the bank to put billions aside in credit provisions which weighed on overall profits.

Profits in Barclays investment bank hit £2.6bn — a 29% increase on 2019 and record performance for its markets unit which has drawn criticism from its largest shareholder for years. This was driven by a 51% increase in fixed income trading, which produced £5.1bn in revenues in 2020.