Britain's Barclays Bank posted a strong rise of 12 per cent in pre-tax profits to 4.1 billion pounds (8.2 billion dollars) in the first half of this year, it said Thursday, according to DPA. The bank said the increase in the first six months to the end of June was due mainly to record earnings of its investment arm, Barclays Capital. However, Barclays, like other leading British banks, has had to refund 87 million pounds in settlement payments to customers who claimed they had been overcharged for overdraft fees. The bank is one of two contenders for a takeover bid of Dutch banking giant ABN Amro.
