Pre-tax profits at Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of UK banking group Barclays, surged 25% to a record £1.3bn (€1.9bn) last year on the back of higher revenues from trading and strong growth in its rates and currencies division.

The investment bank's contribution to group pre-tax profits rose from 22% to 24%. Profits from the UK banking business - still its biggest earner - grew 10% to £1.4bn, but as a proportion of the group, slipped from 28% to 27%.