Pricing supplement - F-74 EUR 95%

424B2 1 d424b2.htm PRICING SUPPLEMENT - F-74 EUR 95% Pricing supplement - F-74 EUR 95%

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE


*Title of Each Class of Securities Offered*	*Maximum Aggregate Offering Price*	*Amount of Registration Fee(1)*
Medium-Term Notes, Series A	$6,000,000	$ 235.80

(1)	Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(r) of the Securities Act of 1933.

Pricing Supplement dated June 4, 2008

(To the Prospectus dated August 31, 2007 and

Prospectus Supplement dated September 4, 2007)

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)

Registration No. 333-145845

$6,000,000

95% Principal Protected Notes due June 5, 2009

Linked to the Performance of a Basket of Currencies

Medium-Term Notes, Series A, No. F-74


Key Terms:		Terms used in this pricing supplement, but not defined herein, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the prospectus supplement.

Issuer:		Barclays Bank PLC (Rated AA/Aa1‡)

Initial Valuation Date:		June 4, 2008

Issue Date:		June 6, 2008

Final Valuation Date:		June 2, 2009*

Maturity Date:		June 5, 2009* (resulting in a term to maturity of approximately 12 months)

Denominations:		Minimum denomination of $1,000, and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

Interest:		We will not pay you interest during the term of the Notes.

Principal Protection:		95%

Participation Rate:		350%.

Reference Asset:		An equally-weighted basket consisting of the currency exchange rates between (i) the Euro and the Brazilian Real (the “EURBRL” currency exchange rate), (ii) the Euro and the Russian Ruble (the “EURRUB” currency exchange rate); (iii) the Euro and the Indonesian Rupiah (the “EURIDR” currency exchange rate), (iv) the Euro and the Norwegian Krone (“EURNOK” currency exchange rate), and (v) the Euro and the Thai Baht (the “EURTHB” currency exchange rate) (each a “currency exchange rate” and a “basket component”). The currency exchange rates for each reference currency, on any given day, including the basket initial valuation date and basket final valuation date, will be determined by the calculation agent as the reference or spot rate (to the nearest four decimal places), which will be determined by the calculation agent in accordance with the following: (a) where the currency exchange rate is EURBRL, the Brazilian Real per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “BRL” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; (b) where the currency exchange rate is EURRUB, the Russian Ruble per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “RUB” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; (c) where the currency exchange rate is EURIDR, the Indonesian Rupiah per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “IDR” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; (d) where the currency exchange rate is EURNOK, the Norweigan Krone per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “NOK” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; and (e) where the currency exchange rate is EURTHB, the Thai Baht per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “THB” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; See “Description of Reference Asset” in this pricing supplement for additional information.

Payment at Maturity:		If you hold your Notes to maturity, you will receive a cash payment determined as follows: • if the basket performance is equal to or greater than 0%, you will receive (a) 95% of the principal amount of your Notes plus (b) the principal amount multiplied by the product of (i) the participation rate and (ii) the basket performance: $950 + [$1,000 x (participation rate x basket performance)] • if the basket performance is less than 0%, you will receive $950 for every $1,000 principal amount of your Notes. *Your principal is only protected up to 95% if you hold the Notes to maturity.*

Basket Performance:		The basket performance equals the weighted average of the percentage change (which may be positive or negative) in the value of each of the basket components from and including the basket initial valuation date to and including the basket final valuation date. The basket performance will be calculated as follows: C_{(i) Initial} = 2.5271 with respect to EURBRL, 36.7500 with respect to EURRUB, 14,407.3500 with respect to EURIDR, 7.9755 with respect to EURNOK, and 50.5740 with respect to EURTHB, which, in each case, represents the reference level of each basket component on the basket initial valuation date; C_{(i) Final} = The reference level of each basket component on the basket final valuation date; and W_(i) = Weighting of each basket component, which is 1/5 for each basket component.

Calculation Agent:		Barclays Bank PLC

Business Day:		New York

CUSIP/ISIN:		06738R P91 and US06738RP910

‡

The Notes are expected to carry the same rating as the Medium-Term Notes Program, Series A, which is rated AA by Standard & Poor’s, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, and will be rated Aa1 by Moody’s Investor Services, Inc. The rating is subject to downward revision, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization. The rating (1) does not take into account market risk or the performance-related risks of the investment (including, without limitation, the risks associated with the potential negative performance of any reference asset to which the Notes are linked), and (2) is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities.

*	Subject to postponement in the event of a market disruption event and as described under “Reference Assets—Currency Exchange Rates—Market Disruption Events for Notes with the Reference Asset Comprised of a Currency Exchange Rate or Currency Exchange Rates” in the prospectus supplement.

Investing in the Notes involves a number of risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-3 of the prospectus supplement and “ Selected Risk Considerations” beginning on page PS-4 of this pricing supplement.

The Notes will not be listed on any U.S. securities exchange or quotation system. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined that this pricing supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

We may use this pricing supplement in the initial sale of Notes. In addition, Barclays Capital Inc. or another of our affiliates may use this pricing supplement in market resale transactions in any Notes after their initial sale. Unless we or our agent informs you otherwise in the confirmation of sale, this pricing supplement is being used in a market resale transaction.

The Notes constitute our direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and are not deposit liabilities of Barclays Bank PLC and are not insured by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency of the United States, the United Kingdom or any other jurisdiction.


	Price to Public	Agent’s Commission	Proceeds to Barclays Bank PLC
Per Note	100.00%	1.5%	98.50%
Total	$6,000,000	$90,000	$5,910,000

LOGO

ADDITIONAL TERMS SPECIFIC TO THE NOTES

You should read this free writing prospectus together with the prospectus dated August 31, 2007, as supplemented by the prospectus supplement dated September 4, 2007 relating to our Medium-Term Notes, Series A, of which these Notes are a part. This free writing prospectus, together with the documents listed below, contains the terms of the Notes and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral statements as well as any other written materials including preliminary or indicative pricing terms, correspondence, trade ideas, structures for implementation, sample structures, brochures or other educational materials of ours. You should carefully consider, among other things, the matters set forth in “Risk Factors” in the prospectus supplement, as the Notes involve risks not associated with conventional debt securities. We urge you to consult your investment, legal, tax, accounting and other advisors before you invest in the Notes.

You may access these documents on the SEC website at www.sec.gov as follows (or if such address has changed, by reviewing our filings for the relevant date on the SEC website):

•

Prospectus supplement dated September 4, 2007 and prospectus dated August 31, 2007:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/312070/000119312507194615/d424b3.htm

Our SEC file number is 1-10257. As used in this free writing prospectus, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refers to Barclays Bank PLC.

Program Credit Rating

The Notes are issued under the Medium-Term Notes Program, Series A (the “Program”). The Notes are expected to carry the rating of the Program, which is rated AA by Standard & Poor’s, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc (“S&P”), and will be rated Aa1 by Moody’s Investor Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”). An AA rating from S&P generally indicates that the issuer’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligations arising from the Program is very strong. An Aa1 rating by Moody’s indicates that the Program is currently judged by Moody’s to be an obligation of high quality and is subject to very low credit risk. The credit rating is a statement of opinion and not a statement of fact and is subject to downward revisions, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. The rating (1) does not take into account market risk or the performance-related risks of the investment (including, without limitation, the risks associated with the potential negative performance of any reference asset to which the Notes are linked), and (2) is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities.

Hypothetical Examples of Amounts Payable at Maturity

The examples set forth below are provided for illustration purposes only. Assumptions in each of the examples are purely fictional and do not relate to any actual reference level or basket performance. The hypothetical terms do not represent the terms of an actual Note. The examples are hypothetical, and do not purport to be representative of every possible scenario concerning increases or decreases in the reference levels of the basket components on the basket final valuation date relative to their reference levels on the basket initial valuation date. We cannot predict the basket performance.

The following examples illustrate the payment at maturity assuming an initial investment of $1,000 and that the reference levels of the basket components are as indicated.

Example 1: In this case, all five reference currencies strengthen against the Euro. (This occurs when C_(i)Final decreases from C_{(i) Initial} , reflecting a fewer number of reference currency per Euro.)

Step 1: Calculate the basket performance.


Basket Component	C_{(i) Initial}	C_{(i) Final}	Performance of Basket Component		Weight		Basket Performance
EURBRL currency exchange rate	2.5271	2.1480	15.00	%	20	%	3.00	%
EURRUB currency exchange rate	36.7500	33.0750	10.00	%	20	%	2.00	%
EURIDR currency exchange rate	14407.3500	13254.7620	8.00	%	20	%	1.60	%
EURNOK currency exchange rate	7.9755	7.0184	12.00	%	20	%	2.40	%
EURTHB currency exchange rate	50.5740	42.4822	16.00	%	20	%	3.20	%
Basket							12.20	%

Step 2: Calculate the payment at maturity.

Because the basket performance of 12.20% is greater than 0% as of the basket final valuation date, the payment at maturity is equal to 95% of the principal amount of your Notes plus (b) the principal amount multiplied by the product of (i) the participation rate and (ii) the basket performance, calculated as follows:

$950 + [$1,000 x (participation rate x basket performance)] = $950 + [$1,000 x (3.50% x 12.20%)] = $1,377.00

PS–2

Therefore, the payment at maturity is $1,377.00 per $1,000 principal amount Note, representing a 37.70% return on investment over the term of the Notes.

Example 2: In this case, some reference currencies strengthen against the Euro while the some reference currencies weaken.

Step 1: Calculate the basket performance.


Basket Component	C_{(i) Initial}	C_{(i) Final}	Performance of Basket Component		Weight		Basket Performance
EURBRL currency exchange rate	2.5271	2.6535	-5.00	%	20	%	-1.00	%
EURRUB currency exchange rate	36.7500	33.8100	8.00	%	20	%	1.60	%
EURIDR currency exchange rate	14407.3500	13831.0560	4.00	%	20	%	0.80	%
EURNOK currency exchange rate	7.9755	8.7731	-10.00	%	20	%	-2.00	%
EURTHB currency exchange rate	50.5740	42.9879	15.00	%	20	%	3.00	%
Basket							2.40	%

Step 2: Calculate the payment at maturity.

Because the basket performance of 2.40% is greater than 0% as of the basket final valuation date, the payment at maturity is equal to 95% of the principal amount of your Notes plus (b) the principal amount multiplied by the product of (i) the participation rate and (ii) the basket performance, calculated as follows:

$950 + [$1,000 x (participation rate x basket performance)] = $950 + [$1,000 x (350% x 2.40%)] = $1,034.00

Therefore, the payment at maturity is $1,034.00 per $1,000 principal amount Note, representing a 3.40% return on investment over the term of the Notes.

Example 3: In this case, all reference currencies weaken against the Euro. (This occurs when C_(i)Final increases from C_{(i) Initial}, reflecting a greater number of reference currency per Euro.)

Step 1: Calculate the basket performance.


Basket Component	C_{(i) Initial}	C_{(i) Final}	Performance of Basket Component		Weight		Basket Performance
EURBRL currency exchange rate	2.5271	2.6535	-5.00	%	20	%	-1.00	%
EURRUB currency exchange rate	36.7500	37.4850	-2.00	%	20	%	-0.40	%
EURIDR currency exchange rate	14407.3500	15848.0850	-10.00	%	20	%	-2.00	%
EURNOK currency exchange rate	7.9755	8.9326	-12.00	%	20	%	-2.40	%
EURTHB currency exchange rate	50.5740	58.1601	-15.00	%	20	%	-3.00	%
Basket							-8.80	%

Step 2: Calculate the payment at maturity.

Because the basket performance of -8.80% is less than 0%, you will receive a payment at maturity of $950. The return on your investment is -5.00%.

Selected Purchase Considerations

•

Market Disruption Events and Adjustments—The payment at maturity, the basket final valuation date and the reference level of each basket component on the basket final valuation date are subject to adjustment as described in the following sections of the prospectus supplement:

•

For a description of what constitutes a market disruption event as well as the consequences of that market disruption event, see “Reference Assets—Currency Exchange Rates—Market Disruption Events Relating to Notes with the Reference Asset Comprised of a Currency Exchange Rate or Currency Exchange Rates” with respect to the basket components and “Reference Assets—Baskets—Market Disruption Events for Notes with the Reference Asset Comprised of a Basket of Multiple Indices, Equity Securities, Foreign Currencies, Interest Rates, Commodities, Any Other Assets or Any Combination Thereof” with respect to the reference asset; and

PS–3

•

For a description of further adjustments that may affect one or more basket components or the reference asset, see “Reference Assets—Currency Exchange Rates—Adjustments Relating to Notes with the Reference Asset Comprised of a Currency Exchange Rate or Currency Exchange Rates” and “Reference Assets—Baskets—Adjustments Relating to Notes with the Reference Asset Comprised of a Basket”.

•

Partial Preservation of Capital at Maturity—You will receive at least 95% of the principal amount of your Notes if you hold your Notes to maturity, regardless of the performance of the basket. Because the Notes are our senior unsecured obligations, payment of any amount at maturity is subject to our ability to pay our obligations as they become due.

•

Appreciation Potential—The Notes provide the opportunity to enhance returns by entitling you to 350% of the basket performance of your Notes at maturity in the event that the basket performance is equal to or greater than 0%, in addition to the principal amount of your Notes.

•

Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—The following section is the opinion of our special tax counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and it assumes that the description of the terms of the Notes in this free writing prospectus is materially correct. Although the matter is not entirely free from doubt, the Notes should be treated as contingent debt obligations for U.S. federal income tax purposes because you will receive at least 95% of the principal amount of your Notes if you hold your Notes to maturity. The discussion below assumes that the Notes will be treated as such. Under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations governing debt obligations with payments denominated in, or determined by reference to, more than one currency, for persons whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar, the Notes will not be foreign currency denominated debt obligations because the “predominant” currency of the Notes is the U.S. dollar. Accordingly, we will treat the Notes as being denominated in U.S. dollars, and payments on the Notes determined by reference to currencies other than the U.S. dollar as contingent payments under the special federal income tax rules applicable to contingent payment obligations. Under these rules, if you are a U.S. individual or taxable entity, you generally will be required to accrue interest on a current basis in respect of the Notes over their term based on the comparable yield for the Notes and pay tax accordingly, even though you will not receive any payments from us until maturity. This comparable yield is determined solely to calculate the amount on which you will be taxed prior to maturity and is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of what the actual yield will be. In addition, any gain you may recognize on the sale or maturity of the Notes will be taxed as ordinary interest income and any loss you may realize on the sale or maturity of the Notes would generally be ordinary loss to the extent of the interest you previously included as income in respect of the Notes and thereafter would be capital loss. If you are a secondary purchaser of the Notes, the tax consequences to you may be different.

For a further discussion of the tax treatment of your Notes, including information regarding obtaining the comparable yield for your Notes, please see the discussion under the heading “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of the Notes as Indebtedness for U.S. Federal Income Tax Purposes—Contingent Payment Debt Instruments” in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

Selected Risk Considerations

An investment in the Notes involves significant risks. Investing in the Notes is not equivalent to investing directly in the reference asset. These risks are explained in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the prospectus supplement, including the risk factors discussed under the following headings:

•

“Risk Factors—Risks Relating to All Notes”;

•

“Risk Factors—Additional Risks Relating to Notes with More Than One Reference Asset (a ‘Basket’)”;

•

“Risk Factors—Additional Risks Relating to Notes Which Pay No Interest”; and

•

“Risk Factors—Additional Risks Relating to Notes with Reference Assets that are Currencies, an Index Containing Currencies or Based in Part on Currencies”.

In addition to the risks described above, you should consider the following:

•

Notes Bearish on Euro—The basket performance will only be positive if, on average, the value of the Euro weakens relative to the reference currencies comprising the basket components. If, on average, the Euro appreciates in value relative to the Brazilian Real, the Russian Ruble, the Indonesian Rupiah, the Norwegian Krone and the Thai Baht over the term of the Notes, the payment at maturity, and therefore the market value of the Notes, will be adversely affected.

•

Your Investment in the Notes May Result in a Loss—The Notes are principal protected only up to 95%. The return on the Notes at maturity is linked to the performance of the reference currencies relative to the Euro and will depend on whether, and the extent to which, the basket performance is positive or negative. You will lose up to 5% of the principal invested if the basket performance is less than 1.54%.

•

Returns Do Not Increase at a Constant Rate— As the reference currencies strengthen (and the Euro weakens), the basket performance will also increase but at a diminishing marginal rate. For example, if the EURRUB currency exchange rate had doubled from its initial value of 36.7500 to 73.5000 (an increase of 100% in the value of the Russian Ruble), the corresponding basket performance would have resulted in a performance of 50%. Moreover, as the final level increases from the initial level, the returns on the Notes continue to increase but at a diminishing marginal rate.

PS–4

•

Certain Built-In Costs Are Likely to Adversely Affect the Value of the Notes Prior to Maturity—While the payment at maturity described in this free writing prospectus is based on the full principal amount of your Notes, the original issue price of the Notes includes the agent’s commission and the cost of hedging our obligations under the Notes through one or more of our affiliates. As a result, the price, if any, at which Barclays Capital Inc. and other affiliates of Barclays Bank PLC will be willing to purchase Notes from you in secondary market transactions will likely be lower than the original issue price, and any sale prior to the maturity date could result in a substantial loss to you. The Notes are not designed to be short-term trading instruments. Accordingly, you should be able and willing to hold your Notes to maturity.

•

Lack of Liquidity—The Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange. Barclays Capital Inc. and other affiliates of Barclays Bank PLC intend to offer to purchase the Notes in the secondary market but are not required to do so. Even if there is a secondary market, it may not provide enough liquidity to allow you to trade or sell the Notes easily. Because other dealers are not likely to make a secondary market for the Notes, the price at which you may be able to trade your Notes is likely to depend on the price, if any, at which Barclays Capital Inc. and other affiliates of Barclays Bank PLC are willing to buy the Notes.

•

Potential Conflicts—We and our affiliates play a variety of roles in connection with the issuance of the Notes, including acting as calculation agent and hedging our obligations under the Notes. In performing these duties, the economic interests of the calculation agent and other affiliates of ours are potentially adverse to your interests as an investor in the Notes.

•

Many Economic and Market Factors Will Impact the Value of the Notes—In addition to the reference levels of the reference asset on any day, the value of the Notes will be affected by a number of economic and market factors that may either offset or magnify each other, including:

•

the expected demand or supply for the reference asset;

•

the time to maturity of the Notes;

•

interest and yield rates in the market generally;

•

a variety of economic, financial, political, regulatory or judicial events; and

•

our creditworthiness, including actual or anticipated downgrades in our credit ratings.

Description of the Reference Asset

The currency exchange rates for each reference currency, on any given day, including the trade date and basket final valuation date, will be determined by the calculation agent as the reference or spot rate, which is determined by the calculation agent in accordance with the following:

(a)

where the currency exchange rate is EURBRL, the Brazilian Real per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “BRL” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date;

(b)

where the currency exchange rate is EURRUB, the Russian Ruble per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “RUB” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date;

(c)

where the currency exchange rate is EURIDR, the Indonesian Rupiah per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “IDR” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date;

(d)

where the currency exchange rate is EURNOK, the Norweigan Krone per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “NOK” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date; and

(e)

where the currency exchange rate is EURTHB, the Thai Baht per Euro fixing rate which appears on the Bloomberg page ECB3 to the right of the caption “THB” at approximately 2:15 p.m., Frankfurt time, on the relevant date.

If any of the Bloomberg pages described above, or the successor page thereto, is not available on the final valuation date, the applicable exchange rate will be calculated by the calculation agent as the arithmetic mean of the applicable offer-side spot quotations received by the calculation agent from two leading commercial banks (selected in the sole discretion of the calculation agent), for the relevant currencies. If these spot quotations are available from fewer than two banks, then the calculation agent shall determine whether such quotation is available and reasonable to be used. If no such spot quotation is available, the calculation agent shall determine the applicable currency exchange rate for such date.

Historical Information

The following graphs set forth the historical performance of the Brazilian Real, the Russian Ruble, the Indonesian Rupiah, the Norwegian Krone, and the Thai Baht relative to the Euro on the daily, closing currency exchange rates from January 2, 2001 through June 4, 2008. We obtained the information regarding these closing currency exchange rates of the EURBRL, EURRUB, EURIDR, EURNOK and EURTHB below from Bloomberg L.P.

We make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information obtained from Bloomberg L.P. The historical performance closing currency exchange rates of the EURBRL, EURRUB, EURIDR, EURNOK and EURTHB should not be taken as an indication of future performance of the fixing rates, and no assurance can be given as to the reference levels on the basket final valuation date. We cannot give you assurance that the performance of the EURBRL, EURRUB, EURIDR, EURNOK and EURTHB currency exchange rates will result in any return in addition to your initial investment.

PS–5

The reference levels of the EURBRL, EURRUB, EURIDR, EURNOK and EURTHB currency exchange rates on June 4, 2008 were 2.5271, 36.7500, 14,407.3500, 7.9755 and 50.5740 respectively.

LOGO