Barclays drawn into foreign exchange probe

(MENAFN- AFP) Barclays is one of a number of companies being investigated over possible manipulation of foreign exchange trading, the British bank said on Wednesday when it announced a return to profit.

"Barclays Bank has received enquiries from certain ... authorities related to their particular investigations, is reviewing its foreign exchange trading covering a several year period through August 2013 and is cooperating with the relevant authorities in their investigations," it said in its earnings statement.

"It is not possible at this stage for Barclays to predict the impact of these investigations on it," the bank said.

Barclays was damaged recently by its role in the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal.

Global regulators had already confirmed their investigations but without naming Barclays as one of the banks being examined.

Also on Wednesday, Barclays reported a net profit of £511 million ($820 million, 597 million euros) for the three months to September 30. That compared with a loss after tax of £183 million in the third quarter of 2012.

"While the resilience of our performance is welcome, I am not complacent, and my executive team know we must push harder in the final quarter and into 2014," chief executive Antony Jenkins said in the release.