FINANCIAL Stability, a financial benchmark, has risen to its highest level in over a year.
The benchmark gauge has climbed for a third straight quarter, the Bank for International Settlements reported Friday.
It rose to 1,078.45 in October, its highest reading in five years, after recovering from a decline in November.
The index of world financial stability, or GSIS, has recovered from a two-month decline to 1.056 in September.
The measure, which tracks the performance of global financial institutions, was last set in March.
It was last at 1,069 in November 2013.
Bank of America Corp. BAC, +0.56% and Credit Suisse Group AG CSGN, +1.11% have been the top two banks in the past two quarters.
Barclays Plc BCS, +2.05% has been the No. 1 bank for a sixth consecutive quarter, beating a consensus estimate of 1.077.
The U.K. bank’s gains over the past six quarters are a reflection of the impact of the Brexit vote on its banking sector.
Barclays and other large U.S. banks have been hit hardest by the uncertainty of a U.N. Brexit vote.
U.KS.
BANKS BEF, +5.97% reported its first loss in four years in October.
The London-based bank said its average credit score dropped by 3.7 points in October compared with the previous quarter.
Barclays is among a number of banks reporting weak performance, including UBS AG BG, +3.14% and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, +4.15% that also lost ground over the last six months.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, +9.98% reported the worst quarterly loss in seven years.
The bank is also among the big losers in a slew of smaller banks that have reported lackluster performance.
Its worst quarterly performance since 2014 has been more than a third higher than the 3.4 percent drop in the broader market.
BATS Global Markets AG BGM, +6.82% posted a second consecutive quarter of losses, which fell to $3.7 billion in October from $5.4 billion in the previous year.
Wall Street analysts are predicting a bigger rebound in the third quarter, as the economy is expected to expand at a solid pace and the Federal Reserve and other central banks raise interest rates.
Barclays, meanwhile, is in the midst of a major restructuring.
Its board of directors voted to slash about a third of the bank’s $3 billion in workforce and to buy back more than $1 billion of its stock.
The sale of about $2 billion of stock is expected later this year.
Barclays’ financials, a measure of its stability, have improved steadily since the financial crisis, with its net worth climbing to $40.6 billion, up from $34.5 billion in 2013.
The Barclays report comes amid a renewed focus on financial stability as the U..
S., Europe and China confront an economic slowdown.
The central banks of Britain and Germany have stepped up efforts to stimulate the economy with stimulus packages.
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has also been expanding its stimulus packages, including buying $400 billion in government debt.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank have also increased their bond purchases, pushing the global economy higher.
Barclays has been buying back more stock, while Bank of Japan and other U.L.G.S.’s have cut back their holdings.
Barclays also cut back on bonuses.
In November, the bank agreed to pay a record $1.5 million in fines to settle charges related to the trading of shares on the London Stock Exchange in 2009.
The largest fines were for violating the rules for dealing in derivatives.
Barclays said it will pay $350 million in a settlement with the U-K.
government for its trading activities in 2009, when it was the biggest broker in London and had a major market presence in the U, Europe and Japan.