BANKING group Abbey National has detailed the problems which cost chief executive Ian Harley his job by unveiling a 34 per cent slide in half-year profits.
The company, which parted company with Mr Harley last Friday, primarily blamed the fall on £208 million worth of bad debt provisions linked to investments at its corporate-based wholesale arm.
That left pre-tax profits for the six months to June 30 down at £697 million from the £1.05 billion achieved a year earlier.
Chairman Lord Burns, who has taken on executive duties while the search for a successor to Mr Harley takes place, said the company had set out priorities to turn the business around.
He wants Abbey National to drive growth from its core retail financial services operation in the UK but also to maintain a stronger control on costs.
The company said this did not necessarily mean job cuts.
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