Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following mixed corporate announcements from the U.S. yesterday.

Banking giant Goldman Sachs reported a 22 per cent drop in first quarter pre-tax profit to $4.04 billion.

However chip-maker Intel said it expected quarterly revenues to be well above current market estimates, giving a boost to investor confidence.

By 09:45 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up 0.68 per cent to 58.78 pence per share, RBS shares increased 0.78 per cent to 41.57 pence per share, Barclays shares rose 0.79 per cent to 292.85 pence per share and HSBC shares climbed 1.42 per cent to 649.70 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was up 1.55 per cent to 5,988.47.

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