Lloyds and RBS will report their results later in the week The bank also said it earned less from investments in bonds and commodities.
On Monday, HSBC reported pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year of $11.5bn (£7bn), up 3% from the previous year.
Lending targets Most of Barclays profits come from its investment banking division Barclays Capital - which includes parts of the former US bank Lehman Brothers.
But profits at this division fell 9% to £2.3bn.
Despite the reduced profits, Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond said he was pleased with the results in what he called a "lacklustre" economic environment.
He claimed the bank was also fulfilling its deal with the government to lend to UK businesses.
"We are meeting our Project Merlin commitments and have extended £20bn of new lending to businesses in the first half," he said.
That included £7bn of lending to small and medium sized firms.
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