Barclays bank : first-half net profits shrink

Troubled British Bank Barclays said Friday that interim net profits shrank to £70 million on vast exceptional charges, and apologised again for the Libor rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the group. Earnings after taxation shrank to the equivalent of 89 million euros or $110 million in the six months to June, compared with £1.5 billion in the same period of the previous year, Barclays said in a results statement. "We are sorry for the issues that have emerged over recent weeks and recognise that we have disappointed our customers and shareholders," said Barclays outgoing chairman Marcus Agius, in reference to the Libor affair. "I speak for all of Barclays' people when I say how determined we are to regain the full confidence of all our stakeholders; customers and clients, investors, regulators and staff alike." The London-listed bank was last month fined £290 million ($451 million, 371 million euros) by British and US regulators after admitting that it attempted to manipulate the Libor and Euribor rates between 2005 and 2009. The scandal prompted the resignation of chairman Agius and chief executive Bob Diamond, and also sparked a fierce political debate over ethics in the banking sector. Libor, or London Interbank Offered Rate, is a flagship London instrument used as an interest benchmark throughout the world, while Euribor is the eurozone equivalent. The rates play a key role in global markets, affecting what banks, businesses and individuals pay to borrow money.