British bank Barclays on Thursday announced a jump in profits during the third quarter, extending its recovery following the pandemic fallout.

Barclays said net profit more than doubled to £1.45 billion (€1.7bn) in the three months to the end of September compared with one year earlier. Profit after tax for the first nine months stood at £5.25 billion, while the pre-tax level of £6.9 billion was a record for the group.

Chief executive James Staley said the group was “seeing evidence of a consumer recovery and the early signs of a more favourable rate environment”.

Banks in the UK have started to raise interest rates on their homes loans, as the Bank of England prepares to increase its main borrowing cost to tackle high inflation.

Barclays said that “although the macroeconomic outlook has improved, the level of uncertainty is relatively high”. It pointed to high unemployment, “with a significant number of jobs at risk of redundancy” as the UK, US and Germany begin to withdraw financial support measures put in place during the coronavirus outbreak.

To date, limited defaults have been observed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but credit deterioration may occur as support is withdrawn- Barclays Bank

“To date, limited defaults have been observed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but credit deterioration may occur as support is withdrawn,” Barclays said.