LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Barclays set aside 750million pounds more for potential foreign exchange fines andlitigation as the British bank's annual profits rose ahigher-than-expected 12 percent thanks to a sharp cut in costs.
Barclays on Tuesday said it made a 2014 adjusted pretaxprofit of 5.5 billion pounds, up from a restated 4.9 billion in2013 and above the average analyst forecast of 5.3 billionpounds.
Barclays said its provision for legal and regulatory matterswas 1.7 billion pounds at the end of the year, up from 485million a year earlier.
It included 1.25 billion pounds for ongoing investigationsand litigation relating to alleged foreign exchangemanipulation, after the bank more than doubled its previous 500million pound provision. (Reporting by Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham; Editing by SineadCruise)