Barclays Wealth grew its loan book by 30% to £12.1bn (€14.2bn) in the six months to the end of June, compared to the same period a year ago, despite concern in political circles that banks are failing to lend sufficient sums to their customers.

Barclays Wealth was able to grow its market share at the expense of rivals including UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, although its lending growth lost momentum in the second half of last year. The increase reflects the fact that less leveraged members of the high net worth community are considered low risk by loan officers.