President Bob Diamond yesterday rubbished talk of a double-dip recession in the UK or the US, saying: “We just don’t see it.”

As the Bank of England voted to keep interest rates at a record 0.5 per cent low for the SEVENTEENTH month, he insisted: “There is no historic example of this kind of economic recovery turning into a double dip.”

Barclays’ bumper haul means a bonus pot of £1.4billion for its staff.

Chief executive John Varley said the bank was doing its bit for Britain by lending an extra £18billion to homeowners and firms between January and June.

And he claimed the Government would be wrong to bring in lending targets.

Mr Varley explained: “We have to lend prudently. Lending imprudently created the mess in the first place.”

Earlier Mr Diamond dismissed Labour leadership candidate Ed Balls’s claim that spending cuts could wreck the economic revival.

He said the Chancellor’s tough Budget would HELP.

As a result there were now far more “credit-worthy” loan applications coming through the door from smaller firms.

BARCLAYS has set aside £194million for possible fines in the US for breaching sanctions regulations.