Barclays saves cash for fx rigging fines as profits jump 12%

Barclays chief Antony Jenkins spoke of "great frustration" dealing with regulatory issues

Barclays chief Antony Jenkins says Barclays has made "good progress" in revamping its culture (Getty Images)

Barclays has set aside a further £750 million for potential fines arising the currency manipulation scandal after it beat forecasts to post annual profits 12 per cent higher than last year.

The bank's adjusted pre-tax profit of £5.5 billion did not account for legal costs, which rose 250 per cent in 2014 to £1.7 billion after allegations of benchmark rigging.

The £1.7 billion cost of litigation at the end of 2014 is a sharp increase from £485 million a year earlier.

The sum set aside to cover the foreign exchange claims stood at £1.25 billion, versus its previous £500 million pot. The bank added an extra £200 million for PPI.

Barclays' full-year adjusted profit before tax rose to £5.5 billion from £4.9 billion in 2013, with much of the uplift stemming from cost savings of £1.8 billion.

Chief executive Antony Jenkins told the BBC Today programme that dealing with the regulatory issues was a “source of great frustration”, but said the bank had made “good progress” in revamping its culture.

Jenkins said that based on that performance, he decided to take bonus of £1.1 million for 2014, which comes on top of his £1.1 million salary and £950,000 in 'role-based' pay.

He has previously declined to take a bonus.

“Every year the board considers... bonuses and I reflect whether take it,” he said. “If you look at the condition of group compared to where it was 2012, it has changed fundamentally, it has better prospects and a changing culture,”

“On this occasion, I judged it right for me take my bonus.”

Barclays said the average bonus per employee was 17% to £14,100.

Additional reporting by Reuters