London: British bank Barclays returned to profit in 2016 after slashing provisions set aside for legal and compensation costs linked to foreign exchange and insurance scandals, it said on Thursday.
Barclays reported annual net profit of £1.62 billion ($2 billion, 1.92 billion euros) compared with a loss after tax of £394 million in 2015, it said. The bank set aside no amount at all in 2016 for “ongoing investigations and litigation including foreign exchange”, whereas it had taken a hit of more than £1 billion over the matters in 2015. Barclays did provide £1 billion last year to compensate customers who were mis-sold a UK insurance product, although this was substantially lower compared with a bill of £2.65 bn for 2015. — AFP
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