Banking group Abbey National, the UK's second biggest mortgage lender, announced 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.
The division took a £95 million hit from its exposure to Enron.
That left pre-tax profits for the six months to June 30 down at £697 million from the £1.05 billion a year earlier.
Chairman Lord Burns said the company had set out a number of priorities to turn around the business.
He wants Abbey National to drive growth from its core retail financial services operation in the UK but also maintain a stronger control on costs.
The company said this did not necessarily mean job cuts.
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