Barclays Bank Says it Sets £500m Aside for Forex Probes

British bank Barclays has set aside £500 million ($800 million, 634 million euros) linked to global probes into allegations of price-rigging in foreign exchange markets, cutting quarterly net profits, it said on Thursday.

"A £500-million provision has been recognized relating to ongoing investigations into foreign exchange with certain regulatory authorities," the London-listed bank revealed in a statement.

The announcement comes as global regulators investigate the alleged rigging of foreign exchange markets around the world.

In Britain, both the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog have launched probes into the alleged manipulation of the £3-trillion-a-day forex market.

Barclays added that earnings after taxation plunged 25 percent to £379 million in the three months to September, compared with £511 million the same period of last year.

The performance was also weighed down by a £364-million loss from the sale of the group's Spanish retail business.

At the same time, Barclays took a £461-million gain related to its 2008 purchase of the U.S. business of failed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

However, Barclays added that adjusted pre-tax profit -- after stripping out charges and other exceptional items -- rose 15 percent to £1.59 billion.

That beat expectations of about £1.21 billion, owing to lower-than-anticipated restructuring costs.

"This is a good performance from the group, our strategy is working, and we expect to see continued progress as we go forward," said chief executive Antony Jenkins.