LONDON: British bank Barclays on Friday announced soaring profits in the first quarter as it slashed bad debt provisions set aside during the Covid crisis.

Profit after tax almost trebled to £1.7 billion ($2.4 billion, 2.0 billion euros) in the first three months of the year compared with the first quarter in 2020, Barclays said in a statement. Money set aside for soured loans dived to £55 million from £2.1 billion a year earlier.

Bad debt charges during the quarter have also fallen sharply at Barclays’ major UK rivals HSBC, Llloyds and NatWest.