Barclays bank H1 net profit up 29 percent to 2.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion)

Barclays bank H1 net profit up 29 pct to $3.9B

LONDON — British bank Barclays PLC said Thursday that its net profit rose by 29 percent in the first half to 2.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) as investment banking gains tripled and provisions for bad loans fell by a third.

Revenue was up 8 percent to 16.6 billion pounds. Pretax profit rose 44 percent to 3.95 billion pounds.

Pretax profit in the investment banking unit Barclays Capital more than trebled to 2.55 billion pounds from 1.05 billion pounds a year ago. The bank said it continued to benefit from the acquisition of Lehman Brothers North American operations in 2008.

Impairment provisions for bad loans fell from 4.56 billion pounds a year ago to 3.08 billion pounds.

Pretax profit for retail banking in Britain rose 61 percent to 504 million pounds but Barclaycard pretax fell 15 percent to 317 million. Pretax profit from western Europe retail banking skidded 89 percent to 10 million pounds.

The company did not pay a dividend a year ago but is paying 2 pence per share for the first half of this year.

Chief Executive John Varley expressed concern about regulatory moves to make banks more secure and prevent a recurrence of the crisis two years ago.

“Of course, we must help make the system safer so that governments, economies and ultimately taxpayers are not faced with the prospect of having to bail banks out again,” Varley said.

However, he added, “if banking were to become risk free, then assuredly it would be socially useless. Our job is to help our customers take appropriate risk.”