British bank Barclays said its profit grew by 9% in 2001 - but it said it had set aside a formidable £1.15 billion sterling for bad debts.
Barclays said its pre-tax results increased to £3.6 billion from £3.3 billion in 2000. Operating income grew 11% to £11.36 billion.
But the bad and doubtful debts figure increased by 35%, partly due to 'the current deterioration in economic conditions on the corporate sector'.
Barclays said it was looking overseas, particularly at Europe, to assure continued growth.
'Our business development over the next 10 years will be biased towards increasing the profit stream from outside the UK, while continuing to grow earnings aggressively in a still fragmented home market,' said chief executive Matthew Barrett.
'Our objective is to become a much more significant player in continental Europe in the future,' he said.
Possibilities for greater consolidation in the British banking sector have dwindled ever since regulators last year blocked a merger between Barclays' rival Lloyds and Abbey National. This has left the so-called 'Big Four' banks to look further afield for the kind of mergers that can create value.
