NEWS
27th Oct 2016 Q3 2016 Results Announcement
27th Apr 2016 1st Quarter Results
01st Mar 2016 Barclays plc 2015 Full Year Results (PDF 2.1MB)
29th Oct 2015 Q3 2015 Results Presentation (PDF, 500KB)
29th Oct 2015 Q3 2015 Results Announcement (PDF, 1.1MB)
28th Oct 2015 Barclays appoints James E. Staley as Group Chief Executive
29th Jul 2015 2015 Interim Results
08th Jul 2015 BARCLAYS PLC - Change of Leadership


VIDEO/AUDIO

24th May 2016 Barclays CEO Staley on Performance, Economy, Markets

EVENTS

23rd Feb 2017 Full Year 2016 Results

LINKS

Regulatory News
Investor News
Press Releases
Social Media Channels

Will update later

The current thread for BARC is this one BM: http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=14062#lastread

Evening Stan, Just think of this one as an added extra and feel free to continue using the main thread.

Out of interest.....latest broker forecasts:

http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/barclays-plc-ordinary-25p/broker-forecasts

Barclays Appoints Group Chief Operating Officer
14 Jan 2015 09:57 GMT

Barclays has appointed Jonathan Moulds to the newly created role of Group Chief Operating Officer. Mr Moulds will join the Executive Committee of Barclays and report directly to the Group Chief Executive Antony Jenkins.

In this role Mr Moulds will lead major change programmes across Barclays and is charged with accelerating delivery of the Group’s strategic plan, Transform. He will have accountability for the Structural Reform Programme, which includes the implementation of the Ring-Fenced Bank in the UK and the Intermediate Holding Company in the US, and will oversee the Strategy and Corporate Development Team. Mr Moulds will also establish and chair a Group Operating Committee which will ensure that the organisation is executing Barclays’ strategy in an aligned and efficient way.

Mr Moulds will take up his post on 2 February 2015.

Commenting on the appointment, Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, said:

“The progress we have made over the past two years in terms of operational, financial, and cultural transformation at Barclays has been enormous.

“My decision to create a Group Chief Operating Officer role at this time is specifically intended to ensure we continue to deliver on our strategy, but more importantly to accelerate execution where possible. There are multiple major change programmes in flight across the Group, designed to achieve our ambitious goals, and which will in turn help to drive the sustainable returns our shareholders deserve. A Group COO will give us additional leadership bandwidth and capability to make that happen.

“Jonathan Moulds has a huge wealth of relevant industry experience to bring to Barclays and to this role. Before leaving the organisation at the end of 2012, he spent over 15 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a variety of senior leadership roles, latterly as CEO of Merrill Lynch International and Head of BoAML Europe. I am delighted to welcome such a seasoned and able leader to Barclays, and I look forward to working with him to accelerate progress towards becoming the ‘Go-To’ Bank.”

Jonathan Moulds, Group Chief Operating Officer designate, said:

“This is a period of profound change for Barclays as the Group builds momentum in the implementation of its strategy and deals with external forces including structural reform. Playing a part in leading the transformation of Barclays represents a hugely exciting professional challenge for me. I am looking forward to taking up my new post and to working with Antony and my colleagues on the Executive Committee in helping the bank realise its full potential.”

More from link below:

Making lives easier for mortgage brokers: Barclays launches ability to photograph customer documents
19 Jan 2015 08:30

Barclays has announced it has rolled out significant enhancements to its online mortgage submission system used by mortgage brokers up and down the country. Building upon the success of Barclays’ cheque imaging technology and in another UK first, the improvements mean that instead of needing to scan customer documents for submission to Barclays, brokers can now take photographs of the paperwork on their Smartphone or tablet.

These images, as well as those of documents that have been scanned, can then be uploaded directly into MAX, the customer case folder online, where they are instantly visible in the case, providing peace of mind that the case can progress.

These changes remove any uncertainty around whether documents have been received and allow brokers to easily view the documents again in the online case file if needed. A headersheet previously completed by brokers to attest to the documents being originals has been replaced by a simpler and quicker tick box route which brokers can now use to confirm they have seen the originals.

As brokers are often on the road and meeting customers in their homes, these enhancements are designed to make it easier for them to conduct their business and progress mortgage applications more quickly.


Jackie Uhi, Managing Director, Mortgage Distribution at Barclays: “The launch of these enhancements to our online mortgage submission system is an important milestone in an ongoing journey of bringing improvements designed to support brokers and to help them deliver the very best service for customers. We’ve listened to feedback from the intermediary market and are working hard to develop a broker-centric approach which sees them served and supported as customers of ours as well as partners. We are excited to be the first lender to offer the ability to photograph documents and upload them in this way and look forward to introducing further innovations in 2015.”


Richard Merrett, Technical Director from brokers, Alexander Hall said: “The Scan and Attach enhancement to Barclays online system has been extremely well received by our Advisers and Administrators. We have already seen positive results in Barclays time to offer since the launch of the facility and it demonstrates their willingness to listen to broker feedback and further develop a proposition that supports good customer outcomes.”

Barclays strengthens Corporate Banking Insurance and Financial Intermediaries team with two new hires
22 Jan 2015 09:26 GMT

Barclays announces the appointments of Andrew Lloyd and Scott Fordham to its Insurance and Financial Intermediaries team, Corporate Banking, in London. Andrew and Scott will report to Carl Boulton, Managing Director and Head of Insurance and Financial Intermediaries, Corporate Banking.

Andrew joins as a Director within the Insurance team and will be responsible for further developing Barclays’ proposition across Europe for both life and non-life markets. Prior to joining Barclays he led the insurance team at National Australia Bank in London, with responsibility for UK and Europe, as well as coverage of parts of the Bermudan market. He has significant experience working with large multinational insurance clients across a number of regions, with a focus on the life insurance and global reinsurance markets.

Scott joins as a Director within the Financial Intermediaries team and will be responsible for structuring solutions for clients in the broker dealer and securitisation sectors. Scott has held a number of senior positions across the financial services and advisory market, and will bring significant expertise to this new position.

Commenting on the appointments, Carl Boulton said: “Andrew and Scott both bring a wealth of experience of their respective markets to the team. Their appointment underscores our commitment to the sector, and to continuing to develop the range of relevant, quality products and services we offer to our insurance and financial intermediary clients worldwide.”





About Barclays

Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays’ purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 135,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

General interest:

Barclays to create more than 100 jobs in Sunderland
6 February 2015 at 2:39pm


Christine Allenson, Barclays Sunderland site president and Cllr Harry Trueman, deputy leader of Sunderland City Council
Photo: Barclays


Barclays Contact Centre in Sunderland has announced plans to create more than 100 jobs as part of its ongoing recruitment during 2015.

The jobs boost at the bank’s Doxford International Business Park site, which currently employs 1,200 people.

Barclays is recruiting new staff in its business banking, premier banking and retail banking operations as it grows its business in Sunderland.

The Doxford site last month became the first banking contact centre in the UK to introduce video banking for its premier customers, a new concept allowing customers to interact face-to-face with a Barclays colleague through their computer, tablet or smartphone, 24 hours a day.


Barclays Sunderland site president and head of customer services Christine Allenson said:

Sunderland is at the forefront of our plans to make telephone banking more accessible and we need more people as we expand the services we provide from the site.

We will be recruiting throughout the year and we are looking for people with a strong customer service ethos, who share our values and have a can-do attitude. They don’t need to have previous call centre experience because we provide induction and training, but what is important is their commitment to providing the best experience for our customers.”

– Christine Allenson


Barclays, which has operated its contact centre in Sunderland for more than a decade, won the North East Contact Centre Award for the best contact centre with for a third consecutive year at the end of 2014.

I hold too many of these for too long but have 340p marked in for it.
Like to see a little more volume.

Fred, there is certainly an upward trend over the last 6 months which should continue through 2015..........well that's the plan!

Barclays launches new ‘Community Banking’ service in UK first
09 Feb 2015

New technology to give access to branch services anywhere, any time


In a UK banking first, Barclays has today announced that by summer 2015, customers across the UK will have access to branch services anywhere and at any time with all Community Bankers able to set up a branch remotely using just their iPad and Wi-Fi or 3G connection. ​ ​

The ground-breaking technology will give Barclays colleagues secure access to services traditionally only available through the confines of a bricks and mortar branch. Alongside Barclays’ extensive ATM network, the increasing popularity of mobile cheque imaging, as well as the rapid adoption of digital banking services, customers will now have the choice to carry out the majority of transactions at a time and place that suits them best.

Currently being trialled with 50 Community Bankers and specialists, including Mortgage, Premier and Business advisors across Sunderland, Norfolk and London, the service will be rolled out to all equipped Barclays bank iPads nationally by the middle of 2015. The service will allow colleagues to carry out many traditional branch transactions including money transfers, changes to personal details or account openings.

Steven Cooper, CEO, Personal Banking, Barclays said:

“The days of banking services only being available by visiting your local branch are a thing of the past. Community Bankers on the move are now able to support a much wider geographical area and are free to drop in to local communities when and where they are needed most.

“Alongside the availability of our colleagues in traditional branches, through video, mobile, telephone, and social media, this new pioneering technology will allow colleagues to access branch services securely in minutes anywhere and at any time - whether it’s in a local village hall, library or community centre, we can now take the branch to the customer.”


Notes to editors

The iPad technology is protected using industry leading security which safeguards both the data, as well as protecting against the threat of any loss or theft of the physical device.

Out of interest.....latest broker forecasts:

http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/barclays-plc-ordinary-25p/broker-forecasts

Barclays launches fintech accelerator program in New York
11 Feb 2015

Barclays and Techstars plan to launch their flagship Accelerator program in New York, following its resounding success in London; ten companies will have the chance to shape the future of financial services.


The Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, will open in New York in July 2015. The program will provide the opportunity for ten companies to participate in thirteen weeks of intensive networking, mentoring and development, aimed at supporting breakthrough financial technology innovations.


The first Barclays Accelerator program ran in London last year. A range of innovative fintech ideas were developed, including a new credit scoring system, a new money management tool to help people regain control of their finances, and an analytics platform designed to help companies manage risk and reputation.


“At Barclays we recognize that innovation will not solely be driven from within our organization so we are actively embracing the opportunities and expertise of the start-up ecosystem. Our Accelerator enables us to help translate emerging technologies into what could be the future of financial services” said Derek White, Barclays Chief Design and Digital Officer. “Our goal in New York is to help innovators develop new disruptive fintech technologies, particularly in the investment banking, wealth management and credit cards industries. We’re thrilled that we are able to extend our program to New York, a hub for global finance, building upon the successes we have already seen in London.”


The ten companies will be based at new, custom-built premises in Manhattan when they join the program in July. The companies will also have access to a catalogue of Barclays APIs and data to help them build and refine their business models. The program will culminate with a Demo Day in October, when the companies will have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to industry leaders.


“Through this expanded partnership with Barclays, we’re able to build on the successes of our London accelerator program, now in its second year, by bringing the same level of fintech innovation to New York City,” said David Cohen, Founder and Managing Partner, Techstars. “Companies joining the New York program will have the opportunity to leverage not only the Barclays network but also the vast fintech community that we’ve been building for the last two years.”


From March 2 until May 1, 2015, entrepreneurs and start-up companies worldwide will be able to apply for a place on the program by visiting www.barclaysaccelerator.com. The program will begin in July 2015 with the Demo Day scheduled for October.

http://www.newsroom.barclays.com/releases/ReleaseDetailPage.aspx?releaseId=3114

UK January inflation falls to lowest since records began
Tue Feb 17, 2015


(Reuters) - British consumer price inflation fell last month to its lowest level since records began in 1989, and it looks set to fall further still, easing a squeeze on consumers just as national elections approach.

Official figures on Tuesday showed the annual rate of consumer price inflation fell to 0.3 percent in January, as expected in a Reuters poll, from 0.5 percent in December.

The tumble largely reflected a slide in global oil prices, which last month fell to their lowest level in almost six years at below $45 a barrel, as well as lower food prices.

Coming less than three months before a parliamentary election, Prime Minister David Cameron will welcome the figures as good news for households, boosting their spending power after years of weak wage growth.

The Official for National Statistics estimated January's CPI figure was the lowest since 1960, using models which go back before the introduction of the index.

The plunge in inflation could also delay a first interest rate rise by the Bank of England since the financial crisis, if price falls spread beyond food and energy.

The fall of inflation would have been sharper but for a softer slowdown in the fall in clothing prices in monthly terms, which the ONS attributed to a greater number of discounts in December than the previous year.

Most economists say Britain, where consumer spending remains strong and wages are starting to rise, faces less danger of deflation than the euro zone, where falling prices have sparked fears of a Japan-style economic stagnation.

Food and non-alcoholic drink prices, which have been pushed down by a supermarket price war and lower commodity prices, fell 2.5 percent compared with a year earlier -- their biggest fall on record.

Last week, BoE Governor Mark Carney said inflation would probably soon fall below zero due to tumbling oil prices. But the Bank forecast that inflation will rebound to hit its 2 percent target in about two years' time.

In a separate release on Tuesday, the ONS said prices at the factory gate fell 1.8 percent in the year to January, the biggest decline since records began in 1997.

In January alone, crude oil prices paid by British manufacturers fell by 20.2 percent from December - the sharpest drop since December 2008 when the world economy was deep in a financial crisis.

BoE Governor Carney has described the fall in oil price as unambiguously positive for the UK economy.

The ONS also said house prices in Britain rose 9.8 percent in yearly terms in December, slowing from 9.9 percent in November, adding to other signs of cooling in the housing market at the end of last year.

Prices in London rose 13.3 percent, while outside the capital and the south-east house prices were 7.4 percent higher.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce and William Schomberg; editing by John Stonestreet)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/17/uk-britain-inflation-idUKKBN0LL0OU20150217

A few days late.....

Barclays launches Twitter Payments through Pingit
25 Feb 2015

In a UK first, Barclays has today announced it will be the first British bank to allow people to pay each other and small businesses using just their Twitter handle.

Launching on both Android phones and iOS devices next month (Tuesday 10th March), Twitter payments through Pingit will expand the existing service to social media and a potential 13.5 million Twitter users in the UK. The service will be available to all Pingit customers whether they bank with Barclays or not.

To sign up, users can link their Twitter handle to their Pingit profile under the app settings. Payments to friends, family and even small businesses are then easily completed in three easy clicks.

1. Log into Pingit

2. Enter the Twitter handle or select a payee from the contact list

3. Complete the payment instantly

Darren Foulds, Director of Barclays Mobile Banking and Pingit said: “We are always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to make people’s lives easier and customer feedback plays a big part in how we chose to further develop our apps.

“Adding the ability to pay people or a small business using just a Twitter handle brings together a social and digital experience to create a new step forward for mobile payments in the UK”.

With eighty per cent of UK Twitter users now accessing the social network through their mobile regularly, the offering gives people a new, fast and safe way to pay without having to always provide either bank details or a phone number.

Launched in 2012, Pingit has now received 3.7 million downloads and over £1 billion has been sent using the app.

This new way of payment will also be available to businesses, providing an added benefit to the 57,000 companies in the UK currently signed up to Barclays Pingit service.

For further information on Barclays Pingit and to download the app visit Barclays.co.uk/pingit

Barclays Shares: BARC What to Watch on Reporting Day
Written by Rob Shelton
Last Updated: 23 October 2015

Deutsche Bank have given some thoughts on what to watch when Barclays plc (LON:BARC) reports on the 29th of October.

Barclays reports to the market on the 29 Oct at 7am, analysts at Deutsche Bank tell us they have a Buy rating maintained on BARC with a 306p target price.

“We expect plenty of attention on the investment bank, as usual, especially as the business moves towards a slimmed down – and we think sustainable – business model,” says a note from Deutsche Bank on the matter.

Deutsche = forecast total revenues flat in sterling terms, with Equities +16%, Macro +2%, and
Credit -20% YoY in Q3.

This would be similar to the US peer group and represent a continuing stabilisation of Barclays’ franchise.

Further notes from Deutsche Bank show:

Barclays have a limited SVR risk, but unlikely to be able to reprice further on deposits. However, due to low mortgage rate back book, new mortgage business is still accretive to margins.

Concerns over SVR churn and resulting spread compression have been present for some time, but haven’t materialized in the same way at all banks.

“Barclays is unaffected by SVR given the low proportion on its balance sheet. Management have spoken in the past that new mortgage lending is accretive to margins given low margins on the back book,” say Deutsche Bank.

28 October 2015

Barclays PLC

James E. Staley appointed as Group Chief Executive

Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") announce that Mr James E. Staley (Jes Staley) has been appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer of Barclays. Mr Staley will take up his role, and join the Barclays Boards as a Director, with effect from 1 December 2015.



Mr Staley has nearly four decades of extensive experience in banking and financial services. He worked for over 30 years at J.P. Morgan initially training as a commercial banker, and later advancing to the leadership of major businesses involving Equities, Private Banking and Asset Management, and ultimately heading the company's Global Investment Bank. He is currently Managing Partner of BlueMountain Capital.

Commenting on the appointment, Barclays Chairman John McFarlane said:

"Barclays is an incredibly important, broad and complex business. Appointing an individual with the business scope, seasoning and track record is a difficult challenge. In Jes Staley we believe we have an executive with the appropriate leadership talent and wide-ranging experience to deliver shareholder value and to take the Group forward strategically. In particular, he understands corporate and investment banking well, the re-positioning of which is one of our major priorities. After an extended process, I now know Jes well, and we are in agreement on the way forward. He is a man of enormous integrity, and someone who both understands the business, but also the importance of cultural reform and the need to conduct our business in a way that we can all be proud of. I look forward to working with him in what will be an exciting and important period for our company as we seek to accelerate the delivery of improved shareholder returns."

Commenting today, Barclays Group CEO-Designate Jes Staley said:

"It is an honour to be chosen to lead Barclays, an institution with an extraordinary legacy of 325 years in existence. I look forward to building on this heritage and to working with the company's dedicated and deeply talented employees to deliver the highest quality financial services to the bank's customers and clients, with integrity and skill.

We will be committed to preserving and enhancing the trust that is the foundation of Barclays' reputation. Stability and long-term orientation are cornerstones for this great institution. We must recognise Barclays' special obligation to those principles. We must also continue the focus on shareholder returns which John McFarlane has mandated. Barclays is a very valuable franchise: from its retail and commercial banking presence in the UK, its strength in cards and payments, its strong position in Africa, to its Investment Bank. Maximising the potential of this franchise means building on our competitive advantages and developing new ones in order to generate strong returns on capital. If we do this, increased value for our shareholders will follow at the same time as Barclays' long history of leadership is continued and enhanced."

The appointment of a new Group CEO was overseen by the Barclays Board Nominations Committee, which was chaired by Barclays Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director, Sir Michael Rake.

Commenting on behalf of the Board Nominations Committee, Sir Michael Rake said:

"The Nominations Committee has conducted a wide-ranging search process and considered the credentials of multiple strong candidates to be the next Group CEO of Barclays. This is a huge, complex, and challenging role, leading one of the largest and most important financial institutions in the world, and my colleagues and I took the responsibility of finding an outstanding leader for Barclays extremely seriously. We are unanimous in our view that Jes Staley is the right man for that role, we wish him every success, and he will have our full support."

There are no other details that are required to be disclosed in respect of Mr Staley's appointment under Paragraph 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority save as disclosed in this announcement and the Notes to Editors.

ENDS

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5140584

Barclays Confirms Jes Staley as CEO

By Max Colchester
Updated Oct. 28, 2015 8:14 a.m. ET

LONDON— Barclays PLC on Wednesday appointed former J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. banker James Staley as its new chief executive, with a mandate to eke out profits at its stuttering investment bank.

Mr. Staley, who will join Barclays on Dec. 1, will be tasked with pushing through a radical overhaul of the U.K. bank following pressure from regulators. In a letter to employees, he pledged to boost shareholder returns at the bank and reaffirmed the “repositioning of the investment bank to a less-capital-intensive model.”

The U.K. lender said Mr. Staley will receive a pay package worth up to £8.24 million ($12.60 million) a year.

Mr. Staley’s appointment, news of which was leaked earlier this month, marks the return of a U.S. banker to the helm of one of the U.K.’s last remaining universal banks.

The 58-year-old, known as “Jes,” worked his way up the ladder over more than three decades at J.P. Morgan, rising to run its asset-management unit before taking over the reins of its investment bank in 2009. He later joined hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management LLC.

His investment-banking experience could prove key as Barclays looks to rejig its franchise.

“He understands corporate and investment banking well, the repositioning of which is one of our major priorities,” said Barclays Chairman John McFarlane. “After an extended process, I now know Jes well, and we are in agreement on the way forward.”

Mr. Staley joins at a bumpy time for Barclays. His predecessor, Antony Jenkins, was dismissed by the board this summer over concerns that he couldn’t push through the overhaul that the bank needed.

Among the challenges Mr. Staley faces is slimming down the lender’s investment bank, which was built up by U.S.-born former CEO Bob Diamond before his resignation in 2012. He will be tasked with pressing ahead with a plan to keep the investment bank’s assets to no more than 30% of the company’s total risk-weighted assets, down from just over half.

Barclays’s Asian and Latin American investment-banking operations are likely to come under scrutiny in the coming months as management continues to cut costs, analysts say. On Wednesday, a Barclays private-equity business specialized in energy and commodities investments announced a management buyout.

Mr. Staley’s peers believe his understanding of the complexities of investment banking will serve him well. “He was a leader during the most difficult days of 2008 and 2009, and he will carry those lessons with him as CEO,” said Daniel Pinto, the chief executive of J.P Morgan’s corporate and investment bank.

Nevertheless, last week Mr. McFarlane looked to play down Mr. Staley’s investment-banking credentials, as U.K. politicians voiced fears the bank would revert to an overreliance on the unit, the source of several damaging scandals.

“He is a client guy,” Mr. McFarlane said last week, pointing to Mr. Staley’s track record in asset management and private banking. Mr. Staley will have to get to grips with Barclays’s large corporate and retail banking business, a major source of profit.

In 2012, after leaving J.P. Morgan, Mr. Staley applied to become Barclays’s CEO but was rebuffed, in part because the British bank was worried about the public reaction to having to buy him out of his deferred J.P. Morgan shares.

Mr. Staley will be paid a base salary of £1.2 million and role-based pay of £1.15 million in shares. The bank will buy Mr. Staley out of his unvested J.P Morgan shares by giving him Barclays stock worth £1.93 million.

—Ian Walker contributed to this article.

Performance Highlights

Chairman's Review

"Today's results show another quarter of progress in our Core businesses alongside the early effects of some of the changes that we are making.

We are pleased that Jes Staley will join us on 1 December as Group Chief Executive Officer, earlier than expected, and we are in the final stage of appointing a Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman to replace Sir Mike Rake on his retirement from the Board in the near future.

As we align Barclays around our three priorities - focus on core (segments and markets), generating shareholder value, and instilling a high performance culture with strong ethical values - we now have a forward agenda that has been discussed and agreed with Mr. Staley.

We will update the market on our plans for structural reform after we have agreed them with the regulator.

Now that we have a new CEO in place, we will provide further updates on future direction at the full year results."

John McFarlane, Chairman

****************************************************

4% growth in Group adjusted profit before tax to £5,156m was achieved in the nine months to 30 September 2015, reflecting improvements in all Core operating businesses. Group adjusted return on average shareholders' equity increased to 7.1% (2014: 6.3%)

A 5% reduction in Group total adjusted operating expenses to £12,465m and a 4% reduction in operating expenses excluding costs to achieve to £11,926m were driven by savings from strategic cost programmes

Profit before tax in the Core business improved 7% to £6,005m with higher income and lower costs. Combined with the increase in average allocated equity of £6bn to £47bn, this resulted in a return on average equity for the Core business of 10.5% (2014: 10.5%) 

Rundown of the Non-Core business continued, with risk weighted assets (RWAs) decreasing to £55bn (30 June 2015: £57bn). The announced sale of the Portuguese retail business in Q315, due to be completed in Q116, is expected to result in a further £1.7bn reduction in Non-Core RWAs. Period end allocated equity reduced to £9bn

Group capital and leverage metrics remained above the 2016 targets, with the fully loaded common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 11.1% (30 June 2015: 11.1%) and the leverage ratio increasing to 4.2% (30 June 2015: 4.1%)

Net tangible asset value per share increased to 289p (30 June 2015: 279p) driven by profit generated for the period and favourable reserve movements

Statutory profit before tax increased 7% to £3,975m, which reflected net losses on adjusting items of £1,181m (2014: £1,217m)


Significant Q315 adjusting items:

Additional provisions of £270m were made in Q315 relating to the settlement of two residential mortgage backed securities claims with the National Credit Union Administration and the settlement of certain legacy benchmark litigation, taking the total additional provisions for ongoing investigations and litigation including Foreign Exchange in 2015 to £1,070m (2014: £500m) 

Additional UK customer redress provisions of £290m were made in Q315 as a result of an internal review relating to rates provided to certain customers on foreign exchange transactions between 2005 and 2012, taking the total provisions for UK customer redress in 2015 to £1,322m (2014: £910m). No additional Performance Highlightsprovisions for PPI redress were made in Q315

A loss on sale of £201m was recognised in Q315 relating to the announced sale of the Portuguese retail business within Non-Core, which is due to complete in Q116. This is in addition to the loss of £118m recognised in H115 relating to the sale of the Spanish business

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5141422

Also:

Barclays adj. pretax profits rise


Barclays reports 4% growth in group adjusted profit before tax to £5,156m in the nine months to 30 September, reflecting improvements in all core operating businesses.

Group adjusted return on average shareholders' equity increased to 7.1% (2014: 6.3%).

The group saw a 5% reduction in total adjusted operating expenses to £12,465m and a 4% reduction in operating expenses excluding costs to achieve to £11,926m were driven by savings from strategic cost programmes.

Profit before tax in the Core business improved 7% to £6,005m with higher income and lower costs. Combined with the increase in average allocated equity of £6bn to £47bn, this resulted in a return on average equity for the Core business of 10.5% (2014: 10.5%).

The rundown of the Non-Core business continued, with risk weighted assets (RWAs) decreasing to £55bn (30 June 2015: £57bn). The announced sale of the Portuguese retail business in Q315, due to be completed in Q116, is expected to result in a further £1.7bn reduction in Non-Core RWAs. Period end allocated equity reduced to £9bn.

Group capital and leverage metrics remained above the 2016 targets, with the fully loaded common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 11.1% (30 June 2015: 11.1%) and the leverage ratio increasing to 4.2% (30 June 2015: 4.1%).

Net tangible asset value per share increased to 289p (30 June 2015: 279p) driven by profit generated for the period and favourable reserve movements. Statutory profit before tax increased 7% to £3,975m, which reflected net losses on adjusting items of £1,181m (2014: £1,217m).

Chairman John McFarlane said: "Today's results show another quarter of progress in our Core businesses alongside the early effects of some of the changes that we are making.

"We are pleased that Jes Staley will join us on 1 December as Group Chief Executive Officer, earlier than expected, and we are in the final stage of appointing a Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman to replace Sir Mike Rake on his retirement from the Board in the near future.

"As we align Barclays around our three priorities - focus on core (segments and markets), generating shareholder value, and instilling a high performance culture with strong ethical values - we now have a forward agenda that has been discussed and agreed with Mr. Staley.

"We will update the market on our plans for structural reform after we have agreed them with the regulator.

"Now that we have a new CEO in place, we will provide further updates on future direction at the full year results."


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5141543

Thursday, 5 November 2015 Ex-dividend date
Friday, 6 November 2015 Record date

https://www.home.barclays/barclays-investor-relations/shareholder-information/dividends.html

Visa Nears $22 Billion Deal to Buy European Counterpart -- Update
By Dow Jones Business News, October 29, 2015, 05:45:00 PM EDT

Visa Inc. is close to clinching the biggest deal in its history--by buying a company named Visa.

The Foster City, Calif.-based payments network is in advanced negotiations to buy its European counterpart--Visa Europe--for about $22 billion in a deal that would unite Visa's global operations under one roof, according to people familiar with the matter.

Visa Inc., which has held sporadic talks over the years with Visa Europe, confirmed in recent months that it was moving ahead with negotiations and would try to finish the deal by the end of October. Analysts say that they expect a deal could be announced as soon as Monday when Visa releases its quarterly results.

Visa Inc., which usually reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in late October, won't report results until Nov. 2, prompting some speculation that it will announce a deal then. In addition, the company usually announces its earnings after the close of the market, but is now planning to issue them in the morning, during Europe's afternoon.

Analysts are betting that both sides are motivated enough to close the transaction.

"This deal has come and gone many times, but it is hard to imagine, when they have come this far, what could happen to make either side walk away, " said Lisa Ellis, a payments analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Large deals valued at $10 billion or more have been rare for financial companies since the 2008 crisis and basically unheard of among the big credit-card networks, Visa, MasterCard Inc., American Express Co. and Discover Financial Services.

Visa's largest acquisition was its $2 billion deal to buy Cybersource, a provider of security services to online merchants, in 2010.

The purchase could have widespread implications for both Visa and MasterCard in Europe, where payments systems remain relatively fragmented.

Visa Inc.'s acquisition of Visa Europe is expected to serve as a trigger for both Visa and MasterCard to push European consumers and businesses toward electronic payments.

It would also likely invigorate the longtime rivalry between the two companies as they court the business of thousands of European financial firms that now own a majority stake of Visa Europe, according to analysts.

"It's pretty clear that the opportunities for MasterCard should outweigh any concerns" about enhanced competition from a unified Visa, said Darrin Peller, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc.

A spokeswoman for Visa Inc. declined to comment on the timing of a deal.

"At this stage, there is no certainty about the outcome of those discussions, and Visa Europe remains focused on continuing to develop its business," said a spokeswoman for Visa Europe.

MasterCard already operates as a unified company around the world, and sees opportunity in a Visa change. MasterCard Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga said Thursday morning on an earnings call that a unified Visa "will change the competitive landscape," but that the integration "will take some energy, effort and dedication."

The proceeds from any sale would come in handy for some European banks, many of which are dealing with financial struggles or varying levels of restructuring. Barclays PLC, the largest stakeholder in Visa Europe, stands to make more than GBP1 billion ($1.5 billion) in the deal, according to a person familiar with the planned transaction.

For years, Visa Inc. and Visa Europe operated under the same umbrella company called Visa International Service Association. That changed in 2007 when Visa's U.S. operations began moving from a bank-owned cooperative to a publicly traded company.

Visa's other operations around the world united under the name Visa Inc., but the European entity remained separate.

The companies however remained intertwined, sharing research and development, the Visa brand name, and other operations that let consumers use their cards without interruption around the world.

As part of its transition to a public company, Visa Inc. granted Visa Europe a put option that would force the U.S. entity to buy the European one in certain circumstances.

Analysts say Visa is well-positioned to buy its counterpart, helped by the strong U.S. dollar and the availability of cheap debt financing for any deal.

Analysts speculate that European financial firms ultimately will see higher rates once they no longer own the European Visa network. The financial firms pay the card networks for transactions.

Margot Patrick contributed to this article.

2 November 2015
Barclays PLC

Proposed acquisition of Visa Europe Limited by Visa Inc.

Barclays notes today's announcement by Visa Inc. regarding its proposed acquisition of Visa Europe Limited, subject to regulatory approvals. Barclays Bank PLC is a shareholder and member of Visa Europe.

As set out in the announcement by Visa Inc., upfront consideration receivable on completion will comprise cash and preferred stock convertible into Visa Inc. class A common stock. Additional deferred cash consideration may also be payable following the fourth anniversary of closing subject to an earn-out mechanism. The preferred stock and earn-out elements of the consideration are contingent upon certain factors. We currently expect to report a post-tax profit of approximately £0.4bn on completion of the transaction (expected to be in 2016).

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5143983

5 November 2015 (10:00)

Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC ("the Company") announces that on 4 November 2015 Jes Staley, CEO designate, notified Barclays that on 4 November 2015 he purchased 2,790,000 ordinary shares in the Company with a nominal value of 25 pence each ("the Shares"). The average market price of the Shares was £2.3300 per share and the place of trading was the London Stock Exchange.

Following this transaction, Jes Staley holds 2,790,000 Shares.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5147009

Barclays Incoming CEO Staley Buys $10 Million of Bank's Shares
by Stephen Morris
November 5, 2015

.Staley buys 2,790,000 ordinary shares at 233 pence apiece


.CEO has requirement to hold four-times basic salary in stock

Barclays Plc’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley bought 6.5 million pounds ($10 million) of shares to fulfill a requirement that top executives hold a sizable long-term stake in the company.

The CEO purchased 2,790,000 shares at Wednesday’s average price of 233 pence in his first acquisition of the bank’s stock before he takes over on Dec. 1, the London-based lender said in a statement Thursday. The CEO and Finance Director Tushar Morzaria have to hold at least four times their basic salary in stock to ensure their interests are aligned with investors, according to Joanne Walia, a company spokeswoman.

Staley, 58, was named the successor to Antony Jenkins on Oct. 28 with a mandate to continue cutting costs and shrink the investment bank at the U.K.’s second-biggest lender. Barclays has been struggling to boost investor returns as low economic growth, new regulations and misconduct fines eat into its profit.

Staley could earn as much as 8.25 million pounds a year at Barclays in total compensation, about 14 percent more than his predecessor Jenkins. He will receive fixed pay of 2.75 million pounds with a 1.2 million-pound basic salary. That means the CEO would have to hold at least 4.8 million pounds in bank stock within five years of taking the job, to comply by Barclays’s rules.

On top of fixed compensation, Staley could earn incentive pay of up to 5.5 million pounds, including a 2.2 million-pound bonus in cash and shares, and a long-term incentive plan that could reach 3.3 million pounds in shares paid three years later. Staley will also get 1.93 million pounds of Barclays stock to buy him out of his unvested share award at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Barclays Christmas Survey 2015 reveals retailers all set for Christmas trading period to begin
05 Nov 2015 12:00

A record 77% of UK retailers are more confident about Christmas trading this year compared to last year, and 79% expect revenue to increase
•77% of UK retailers also say they will hold a Black Friday promotion, with 69% predicting sales will rise compared to Black Friday 2014; only 4% predict a fall
•The majority of retailers expect mobile to be the channel experiencing the biggest sales growth (56%)
•Click and collect expected to be the delivery channel with the biggest growth, experiencing a predicted 25% increase compared to 2014

New research from Barclays has revealed confidence is high in the retail sector as the Christmas period approaches. More than three quarters of retailers reported that they are more confident about Christmas trading this year (77%), and an even higher proportion (79%) expect revenue to increase, with 14% predicting their revenue will rise by more than 10%.

The Barclays Christmas Survey also examined the growing significance of Black Friday, the initiative imported from the USA, which sees significant discounts from many retailers on the fourth Friday in November. Black Friday has rapidly established itself as an annual fixture on the UK retail calendar and the survey reveals the extent to which it has made its mark in the UK. 77% of UK retailers plan to hold a Black Friday promotion this year, up from 73% last year, with 69% expecting sales to rise compared to Black Friday 2014, and only 4% of those surveyed anticipating a fall.


Link to full News Release:

http://www.newsroom.barclays.com/r/3258/barclays_christmas_survey_2015_reveals_retailers_all_set

9 November 2015
Barclays PLC

Sir Gerry Grimstone appointed as a Director to succeed Sir Michael Rake as Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman

Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") announce that Sir Gerry Grimstone has been appointed as a non-executive Director of Barclays with effect from 1 January 2016 and will succeed Sir Michael Rake as Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman with effect from 1 January 2016.

Sir Michael Rake will step down as a Director at Barclays with effect from 31 December 2015.

Sir Gerry Grimstone has been Chairman of Standard Life plc since May 2007, having previously been appointed Deputy Chairman in March 2006. Sir Gerry is also an Independent Non-Executive Board Member of Deloitte LLP and the Lead Non‑Executive at the Ministry of Defence.

Previously, Sir Gerry spent 13 years with Schroders in London, Hong Kong and New York, and was Vice Chairman of Schroders' worldwide investment banking activities. Since then he has served on the boards of Bridgewell Group Limited, F&C Global Smaller Companies plc and more recently of Wilmington Capital Limited, Candover Investments plc and TheCityUK. He is also an Advisor to the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which is one of the largest commercial banks in Abu Dhabi.

In addition he has held various positions in the public sector, including at the Department of Health and HM Treasury, and has served on the boards of commercial companies such as Aggregate Industries plc and Dairy Crest plc. He is also a member of the governing bodies of the Financial Services Trade and Investment Board and the Shareholder Executive.

Commenting, John McFarlane said, "I am delighted that Sir Gerry Grimstone has accepted the Board's invitation to join Barclays and to become Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director. Sir Gerry commands great respect within the financial services industry and will bring immense experience, integrity and knowledge to the role.

I would like to thank Sir Michael Rake on behalf of the Boards of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC for his dedicated service and commitment over eight years as a director, including being Senior Independent Director since October 2011 and Deputy Chairman since July 2012. His wise counsel and advice have been invaluable in helping Barclays steer its way through a challenging period for the sector. I am particularly grateful to Mike for successfully overseeing the appointment of a new Chief Executive in Jes Staley."

Sir Gerry Grimstone commented, "I am immensely looking forward to joining the Barclays Boards and to playing my part in delivering Barclays' strategic priorities. I am particularly looking forward to supporting John McFarlane and Jes Staley as they seek to complete the cultural transformation of Barclays and accelerate the delivery of sustainable shareholder returns."

Sir Michael Rake stated, "The last eight years have been an eventful and difficult period for the banking industry. However, Barclays is emerging in a stronger position and I am very confident that it will succeed and prosper under its new leadership. I wish it well for the future."

There are no other details that are required to be disclosed in respect of Sir Gerry Grimstone's appointment under Paragraph 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority save as disclosed in this announcement.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5149077

Barclays picks new chief operating officer for investment bank
By Steve Slater
Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:09am GMT


Barclays Plc (BARC.L) has promoted the head of its macro markets business to chief operating officer (COO) of its investment bank, tasked with accelerating the restructuring of the business.

The London-based bank has appointed Mike Bagguley as COO for the investment bank with immediate effect, reporting to investment bank chief executive Tom King, according to a memo sent to staff by King and seen by Reuters.

Barclays is slimming down its investment bank to try to cut costs and improve profitability, and King said Bagguley would aim to accelerate delivery of that strategy.

He will also seek to align infrastructure functions and help coordinate and deliver projects and join the investment bank's executive committee, King said.

"Our recent third-quarter results further validate the strategic choices we made last year but there is more to do," King told staff in the memo.

Bagguley has overseen the reduction and reshaping of the macro business, which includes interest rates, foreign exchange and commodities products, as trading revenues across the industry have fallen and tougher regulation hit profitability.

Barclays is one of several banks, including Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and UBS (UBSG.VX), to cut back trading activities and put more focus on areas that have been less hurt by regulation, such as equities and advisory.

Bagguley joined Barclays in 2001 on the fixed income trading desk in London and has held senior roles in Tokyo, London, New York and Johannesburg.

King said Rob Bogucki and Nat Tyce, co-heads of macro trading, and Kashif Zafar, head of macro distribution, would jointly lead the bank's macro products business.

The investment bank has not had a chief operating officer since Justin Bull left in April.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/17/uk-barclays-investmentbank-coo-idUKKCN0T60SU20151117

01 December 2015
Barclays PLC
Barclays Bank PLC

Barclays passes 2015 BoE stress test


Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") note the publication today of stress test outcomes for UK banks by the Bank of England ("BoE"). Under the BoE's assessment of the effects of the modelled adverse stress scenario, Barclays' minimum stressed Common Equity Tier 1 ("CET1") ratio over the period 2015-19 was 7.3% after the impact of strategic management actions.


The minimum stressed CET1 ratio before the impact of strategic management actions of 6.8% exceeded the 4.5% minimum threshold by a significant margin. Given the impact of strategic management actions, conversion of AT1 securities is not triggered in the stress scenario.

Barclays reported a 10.2% PRA Transitional CET1 ratio as at 31 December 2014, which was the starting point for the stress test modelling. This had increased to 11.1% as at 30 September 2015. Barclays continues to target an end state fully loaded CET1 ratio of greater than 12%.


The minimum stressed Tier 1 leverage ratio was calculated at 3.3% after management actions and 3.2% before management actions, both above the 3.0% minimum threshold. Barclays reported a 3.7% Tier 1 leverage ratio as at 31 December 2014, which was the starting point for the stress test modelling. This had increased to 4.2% as at 30 September 2015.



The full year results for 2015 and the Annual Report will be published on 1 March 2016.



The BoE stress test results for UK banks can be found on the BoE website at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/Pages/fpc/stresstest.aspx and Barclays' results are summarised below.


SEE LINK BELOW:

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5164559

3 December 2015

Barclays PLC

Barclays announces further Non-Core disposals


Barclays PLC ("Barclays") has today agreed to sell its Italian Retail Banking network of 89 branches, including a broadly balanced portfolio of assets and liabilities, to CheBanca!, a member of the Mediobanca Group.

Barclays will continue to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy. It will also continue to manage the remaining retail mortgage portfolio.

The financial impacts of this transaction on Barclays are dependent, among other things, on the balance sheet of the business at completion of the transaction and foreign exchange movements up to completion. The current estimate is that the transaction will result in a 30 September 2015 pro forma decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately £0.8bn on completion, along with a loss after tax of approximately £200m, which will be booked in Q4 2015. The total impact of the transaction once completed is expected to result in a small decrease in Barclays' CET1 ratio and tangible net asset value.

Completion is subject to, among other things, regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in Q2 2016.


Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "This transaction is further evidence of the re-shaping of Barclays Group to focus on our Core businesses. We continue to make progress in the reduction of Barclays Non-Core as we target risk weighted assets of around £20bn at the end of 2017.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank our Italian colleagues in the businesses we are selling for their hard work and professionalism which has built strong customer and client relationships over many years and has made these businesses so attractive to CheBanca!. We are committed to making the transfer to CheBanca! a smooth one for our customers and colleagues."

Barclays Investment Bank and Lazard acted as financial advisers to Barclays on this transaction.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5166874

16 December 2015
Barclays PLC

Barclays announces sale of Risk Analytics and Index Solutions business to Bloomberg

Barclays PLC ("Barclays") has today agreed to sell Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions Ltd. ("BRAIS") to Bloomberg L.P. ("Bloomberg") for approximately £520m(1).


BRAIS incorporates Barclays' benchmark indices, including the Barclays Aggregate family of indices. The transaction includes the sale of relevant intellectual property in relation to the POINT portfolio analytics tool. Barclays has agreed to continue to operate POINT for 18 months post completion in order to help clients transition to other providers, including Bloomberg's PORT product. Barclays will retain its quantitative investment strategy index business, with calculation and maintenance of its strategy indices outsourced to Bloomberg.


The pre-tax gain to be recognised on completion of the transaction is expected to be approximately £480m and is estimated to result in a proforma increase of c.10 bps on the 30 September 2015 CET1 ratio. Given the nature of the BRAIS business, it will have a negligible impact on RWAs.


Completion is subject to various conditions, including anti-trust approval, and is expected to occur by mid-2016.


Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: "We are pleased to partner closely with Bloomberg upon completion of the transaction, including maintaining a co-branding arrangement on the benchmark indices for an initial term of five years.


"This transaction is further evidence of the good work we are doing in managing down our Non-Core assets so that shareholders can feel the full benefit of ownership of Barclays' well-performing Core businesses."

(1) $790m at USD/GBP rate of 1.52


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5176250

General interest

Barclays announces new commitment to exports in industry leading UKTI partnership
13 Jan 2016

Bank pledges to help 15,000 businesses export in the next five years, to support HM Government’s export drive

Barclays has joined forces with UK Trade & Investment as a lead partner to broaden, deepen and sharpen efforts to help further develop international trade and inward investment for UK businesses.

The two organisations have agreed key priorities and targets across UK trade and investment which they will work together to deliver in seven focus areas.

John Winter, CEO of Barclays Corporate banking said: “Supporting UK enterprise and helping businesses of all sizes to expand and grow is something we are passionate about. We provide expert help to UK businesses in accessing new markets, expanding overseas, and achieving their growth objectives around the globe. Providing our clients with the tools, guidance and finance to encourage and stimulate their exporting ambitions in turn supports the wider UK economy.”


Lord Maude of Horsham, Minister for Trade & Investment, said: “Government and private sector co-operation is at the heart of our approach to increasing UK exports. Working together we can create a more vibrant export support marketplace to help small and medium sized businesses to flourish and grow.”


Dr Catherine Raines, Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment, said: “I am delighted we will be working together with Barclays, which will lead to 15,000 more companies working abroad in 2020. Pooling our professional advice for companies is a powerful offer and will increase the amount of support for exporters available.”

The seven key areas of focus for joint working between Barclays & UKTI are:

1.Development of Digital Products and capability – through digital transformation of systems, staff training and development of digital products to support businesses exporting.
2.Increase the number of first time exporters – a pledge to support 15,000 businesses exporting for the first time or those returning to exports by 2020.
3.Increase exports by Medium Sized and High Growth Businesses – through trade missions, export summits and at UKTI Export Week. A UKTI MSB adviser will be available to Barclays clients for support, while Barclays and UKTI also pledge to support high growth businesses by exploring propositions to help their specific trade ambitions.
4.Winning of overseas High Value Opportunities and sector development – Barclays and UKTI sector and project finance teams will exchange information and collaboratively support networking between UK Medium Sized Businesses (MSB) and Prime Contractors to aid the formation of UK supply chains for High Value Opportunities overseas, in addition to improvements in the response to HVOs, to increase UK export success.
5.Increase trade with Africa – identifying opportunities with targeted trade programmes. Barclays has identified a £3.6bn export opportunity for UK businesses by 2020, up from £1.2bn currently for the five African Sleeping Giant countries. Total consumer spending in Sub-Saharan African countries is expected to grow by 4- 5% over the next 5-10 years.
6.Encourage inward investment from priority overseas markets – Raise awareness of UK as an investment destination through Barclays global reach and UKTI networks
7.Drive exports through marketing, initiatives & events – UKTI and Barclays will work closely to promote the Exporting is Great campaign.

dividend above 6.50 to move s/p up. i am unable to see it,through data to much of it,, results feb slim chance of divi rise, hold long reluctant to sell. @
195 14-1-16 BB

General interest

Barclays launches new digital cash collection service for businesses
18 Jan 2016

•New ‘Barclays Collect’ service is driving innovation for business cash collection

•Customers can book their collection online from mobile or desktop

•Businesses can book cash collection straight from their door rather than travelling to a branch

Barclays is launching a new cash collection service ‘Barclays Collect’ for business customers and corporate clients which will save time for hard working businesses across the country, with the service collecting straight from their door.

The new service offers customers a security vehicle to transport their deposits for them and allows customers to book a collection time online from either their mobile or desktop, which is both convenient and saves time.

For each single cash collection of £5,000 and above the service will be free, while there will be a charge of £7.50 plus VAT for collections between £2,500-£4,999.99 and below £2,500 there will be a charge of £15 plus VAT per collection, in addition to cancellation charges and standard processing fees*.

The pilot is currently underway for Barclays business and corporate customers in Birmingham, Manchester, Enfield and Leeds Bradford, before the bank plans to roll it out to all UK regions in 2016 following the outcome of the pilot.

Customers can schedule a recurring time or schedule a one-off collection. An easy to follow security checklist guides customers through the collection requirements and gives them the confidence that their money will be delivered and processed safely.

Gavin Isle, Head of Business and Corporate Banking at Barclays commented: “Traditionally small businesses have had to take precious time out of their working day to travel to a branch and make their cash deposits. The new Barclays Collect service is a solution that will enable customers to book a collection quickly and securely, providing businesses with a simple and convenient service that works around them. This service will also support larger businesses with their cash management needs.

“We’re passionate about helping businesses and providing innovative solutions for our clients. In addition to time saved, this service provides security for business owners and their staff and with the peace of mind that takings will be in their account the next working day. We’re proud that our investment in digital banking means that we’re leaving no business behind.”

Business owner Ben Luk of New Harvest Wholesale LTD, commented: “The main benefit of Barclays Collect is the convenience factor. We used to visit the bank three times a week and it was a struggle finding the time with all the other demands of running a business. It is simple to arrange the collections using the online booking system, they have arrived on time and collection itself now takes under 30 seconds. It is very reassuring to know the cash is now being securely transferred into my account.”

The launch of Barclays Collect, supporting businesses and corporates with their cash deposit management, follows Barclays’ announcement to widen its mobile cheque payments to business customers after a successful pilot.

Barclays Announces Initiatives in the Investment Bank
21 Jan 2016 14:40

Barclays PLC ("Barclays") has today announced several initiatives within its Investment Bank which build on its existing strategy.


The Investment Bank will continue to focus on its two home markets in the UK and US and to develop its global franchise, building on areas of competitive advantage and the strength of its client relationships internationally, while exiting certain product lines. We will close offices in nine countries across Asia, the Americas and EMEA. In Asia, we will continue to provide expertise and resources to clients who have cross-border requirements from offices in China, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Japan and India.

Barclays will report its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2015 on 1 March 2016. For this period, Barclays expects to report Investment Bank income broadly flat on the prior year.

Jes Staley commented: "With these actions, we are accelerating the Investment Bank strategy outlined in 2014, focusing on its core strengths and running the business for returns. We continue to build on the business's dual home markets in the UK and US and remain committed to a strong presence in Asia and EMEA, consistent with operating a leading global investment bank within the Barclays Group".

1st March 2016

2015 Full Year Results and Audited Annual Report

Timetable

7:00am (UK time): Publication of 2015 Full Year Results

9:30am (UK time): Analyst and Investor Presentation hosted by Jes Staley, Group Chief Executive and Tushar Morzaria, Group Finance Director

3.00pm (UK time): Fixed Income conference call and webcast hosted by Tushar Morzaria, Group Finance Director and Dan Hodge, Treasurer

2015 Full Year Results webcast registration (via link at BOP)

2015 Full Year Results Fixed Income webcast registration (via link at BOP)

https://www.home.barclays/barclays-investor-relations/results-and-reports/financial-calendar.html

Another rewarding payout from short term trading on this one chaps.. assuming the market co-operates of course.

next Tuesday will tell all we hope its good

28 February 2016

Barclays PLC


Barclays PLC notes the recent press speculation regarding a potential sale of its shareholding in Barclays Africa Group Limited ("BAGL").


The Board continues to evaluate its strategic options in relation to its BAGL shareholding and expects to update the market at the time of its 2015 Full Year Results Announcement on 1 March 2016.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5222028

Barclays PLC
01 March 2016

Annual Financial Report

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5223358



Final Results

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5223228

Barclays chief executive: We must regain trust

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor
1st March 2016

The chief executive of Barclays has told me that the bank needs to regain the trust of the public as he announced that profits had more than than halved in the final three months of 2015.

In his first interview since taking over at the bank in December, Mr Staley said that the core bank was performing well, but there was a lot of work to do "simplifying" the structure of the bank and improving conduct.

That restructuring will cost money, he said, and will lead to the dividend being cut for investors by more than half this year and in 2017.

The bonus pool will also be cut for senior executives, he said.

"We are working at Barclays to change conduct," Mr Staley told me. "I am truly dedicated that Barclays rests itself on the foundations of integrity and engenders trust from our clients, so the conduct issues will be a thing of the past.

"I do believe that trust is returning to our institution. But we will never rest, we are never done. We have to focus on building that trust every day."

He refused to repeat the pledge made by the bank's chairman, John McFarlane, last year that the bank's share price would double in three years.

The bank's share price has fallen 40% since the middle of last year. Mr Staley said he believed the market would respond positively to the simplification plans announced today.

On pay, Mr Staley said he wanted to pay "competitively" but he understood the public's concerns.

"In the last four years, Barclays' bonus pool has been cut in half," he said.

"But remember, we need to pay competitively, whether it's the branch manager in Manchester or the banker in New York."

He said that Barclays would look to sell the majority of its Africa business, largely ending a historic relationship that goes back over 100 years.

"In the last three months we've had to make some very difficult decisions. We've pulled the investment bank back from nine emerging economies," Mr Staley said.

"On top of that we have made a very challenging decision to sell our position in Barclays Africa.

"The reality is, in this new regulatory environment, we carry 100% of the liabilities but we only own 62% of Barclays Africa.

"It truncated possible returns from investing in Africa.

"We have to take difficult decisions if we're going to get Barclays into a focused, clear business model that generates returns for our shareholders."

Turning to Europe, Mr Staley said that it was better for Britain to remain in, rather than leave, the European Union.

"We believe staying in the EU is best for our consumers and corporate clients," he said.

"Having unfettered access to the great economies of Europe anchors some significant benefits for the UK."

From yesterday:

Barclays announces the appointment in London of Carlo Calabria as a Chairman, M&A EMEA within its Investment Bank
07 Mar 2016 11:00

LONDON, 07 March 2016 – Carlo Calabria joins Barclays from CMC Capital where he was a Founding Partner having established this business in 2012. In addition, eight other professionals from his team at CMC Capital, based in both London and Milan, will also be joining Barclays to work within the firm’s EMEA Banking team, including his partners Enrico Chiapparoli who will be joining the Industrials team to lead the coverage effort for the Automotive sector, and Stefano Soldi who will be joining the Power & Utilities team.

Carlo will work closely with Pier Luigi Colizzi, Head of M&A EMEA at Barclays, to further accelerate the strong momentum of the M&A team, focusing on the firm’s client relationships and leveraging Barclays’ strong position in both M&A and financing.

Commenting on the appointment, Crispin Osborne, Co-Head of Banking EMEA at Barclays said: “We are delighted that Carlo has joined Barclays, his senior client experience and proven track record will further help to drive the momentum of our EMEA Banking business. These appointments show the strength of our platform and our commitment to better help our clients achieve their goals.”

Previously Mr Calabria was Vice Chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Corporate and Investment Banking Division, having also held other senior responsibilities including Chairman M&A, Head of International M&A and Financial Sponsors and Head of European M&A.

Enrico Chiapparoli was previously at CMC Capital and Bank of America Merrill Lynch with over 20 years of experience in investment banking in European Industrials, most recently as Chairman of EMEA Automotive and Head of Investment Banking Italy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, prior to joining CMC Capital.

Stefano Soldi was previously at CMC Capital and Bank of America Merrill Lynch with over 15 years of experience in investment banking in the European Energy & Power industries.

Mr Calabria founded CMC Capital in 2012 to provide advice to European corporates on mergers, acquisitions; optimising capital structure; capital raising and bank debt restructuring.

Barclays CEO Jess Staley on Bank's Strategy(Video)
12:51 PM GMT
March 10, 2016

Barclays CEO Jess Staley discusses the bank's business strategy. He speaks on "Bloomberg ‹GO›." (Source: Bloomberg)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-10/barclays-ceo-jess-staley-on-bank-s-strategy

Hodnett: A “Lot of Interest” For Barclays Africa (Video)
10:46 AM GMT
March 10, 2016

Barclays Africa Group Ltd. said there’s no lack of interest from buyers seeking a stake in South Africa’s third-largest lender as Barclays Plc prepares to reduce its 62.3 percent holding to less than 20 percent. The London-based bank’s shares won’t be “sold in the short term and a number of players will have a say in the process,” Barclays Africa Deputy Chief Executive Officer David Hodnett said in an interview in Johannesburg on Wednesday, without elaborating on who the buyers might be.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-10/hodnett-a-lot-of-interest-from-buyers-for-barclays-africa

ECB reveals surprise stimulus moves

The European Central Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate to 0% from 0.05% as part of a package of measures intended to boost the flagging eurozone economy.

The ECB will also expand its quantitative easing programme from €60bn to €80bn a month.

The scheme will now include the purchase of corporate bonds as well as government debt.

The bank has also decided to further cut the bank deposit rate.

It now stands at minus 0.4%, down from minus 0.3%, meaning that banks must pay more to deposit funds with the ECB.

The package of measures, including the decision to cut the benchmark interest rate, was more radical than investors had expected.

Stock markets rallied in response, with Frankfurt rising 2.2% and Paris jumping 2.5%.

Shares in European banks rose sharply, with Deutsche Bank rising 4.5%, Societe Generale adding 5.3%, Santander up 4.4% and Italy's UniCredit adding 6.8%.

Bigger bazooka

The euro fell 1% against the US dollar to $1.0863 and shed 0.5% against sterling, the yen and the Swiss franc.

John Hardy, head of currency strategy at Saxo Bank, said: "This was a much bigger bazooka than the market was expecting and shows the ECB trying to get ahead of the confidence curve after learning its lesson in December."

ECB president Mario Draghi will give a press conference in Frankfurt at 1330 GMT.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35774629

Reuters

The Guardian

Barclays CEO Staley Says He's Cut 6,000 Jobs in First 100 Days
Stephen Morris
March 15, 2016 — 1:14 PM GMT

Jes Staley said he’s eliminated more than 6,000 positions in his first 100 days in charge of Barclays Plc, after the new chief executive officer shrank the investment bank and exited countries from Brazil to the Philippines.

“We’ve now reduced the headcount by well-north of 6,000 people, so double what was done in the last four years in the first four months,” Staley, 59, said Tuesday at the Morgan Stanley Financials Conference in London. “On the day that I arrived at Barclays, we imposed a headcount freeze.”

Staley has moved to simplify Barclays after inheriting a bank that’s seen about 20 billion pounds ($28 billion) of profit in the past five years wiped out by misconduct charges. The CEO announced plans to step back from a century of operations in Africa, closed offices in seven countries in Asia, and pledged to sell-down the bank’s non-core assets faster.


The efforts haven’t boosted the stock. The shares have fallen 30 percent since Dec. 1 and trade at about 50 percent less than its book value, driven in part by Staley’s decision to slash the dividend in half for the next two years.

“Any management of a bank that is trading below its book value can’t sleep at night,” Staley said. “You, our shareholders, are saying that with the stock price at the current level, we are destroying value. So what Barclays has to be dedicated to is to produce the financial results that generate the confidence from the shareholder base.”

Once Barclays’s 62 percent stake in its African banking division has been sold down to less than 20 percent -- deconsolidating the unit from the bank’s balance sheet and freeing it from punitive capital requirements -- headcount will be reduce by another 44,000, Staley said. The company had 129,400 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2015, down from 139,600 in 2013. That figure may not include contractors or some other workers.

Although returns at the investment bank are “not acceptable,’’ Staley said the business is “lean” and to cut risk-weighted assets at the division further would “threaten its ability to play in the top tier.” The unit’s return on equity was 5.6 percent in 2015 and was negative in the fourth quarter.


Since joining, Staley has hired several executives from his former employer JPMorgan Chase & Co. for his management team, including C.S. “Venkat” Venkatakrishnan as chief risk officer and Paul Compton as chief operating officer.

“One of the reasons we announced and recruited Paul Compton is that we need to very much focus on the core operations and technology expense at Barclays in our investment bank,” the CEO said Tuesday. “That will be one of the key instruments of getting the returns at the investment bank closer to the cost of capital.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-15/barclays-ceo-staley-says-he-s-cut-6-000-jobs-in-first-100-days

Black Rock Inc. go above 5%: http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5239777

Barclays is being sued by the former boss of Tullett Prebon over accusations that the bank failed to transfer hundreds of thousands pounds of the financier's money into his investment fund so that he missed out on a more than doubling in its value. Terry Smith, founder and chief executive of Fundsmith, which manages more than £5bn on behalf of himself and other investors, is claiming nearly £220,000 from Barclays for negligence after it took nearly three years to transfer money from a company controlled by him to buy additional units in the fund. - The Times

18 March 2016
Barclays PLC

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Barclays announces that its 2016 Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, 28 April 2016 at 11.00am at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.

In connection with this, the following documents have been posted or made available to shareholders today:

1. Notice of the 2016 Annual General Meeting ('AGM Notice'); and

2. Proxy forms for the 2016 Annual General Meeting.

The AGM Notice is also available online at home.barclays/agm

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.1, copies of the above documents have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at www.Hemscott.com/nsm.do

Frits van Paasschen will not be standing for re-election at the 2016 Annual General Meeting and will be retiring from the Boards of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC with effect from the close of the Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2016. Commenting, Barclays Chairman John McFarlane said, "I should like to thank Frits for his support and diligence on the Board over the last three years".


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5245276

Accelerated rundown of Barclays Non Core continues: sale of Portuguese retail and insurance businesses completes
01 Apr 2016 10:13

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) has today completed the sale of its Retail Banking, Wealth and Investment Management and part of its Corporate Banking business in Portugal which serves small and medium-sized enterprises (the “Portuguese Businesses”) to Bankinter S.A. (“Bankinter”). It has also completed the sale of its insurance business in Portugal to Bankinter Seguros de Vida S.A. Seguros y Reaseguros (“Bankinter Vida”), which operates an insurance joint-venture with Mapfre S.A.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “As I set out on 1 March, accelerating the closure of Non-Core is the key to creating a simpler, more focused Barclays, centred around a core business which is already delivering a greater than 10 per cent return on tangible equity today. I’m very pleased to say that today’s announcement takes us a step closer to that.”

Harry Harrison, Co-Head of Barclays Non-Core: “Completing the sale of Barclays’ retail, wealth, insurance and part of the corporate banking business in Portugal today demonstrates further progress towards our target of managing down Risk Weighted Assets in Barclays Non-Core to around £20bn by the end of 2017. The sale is also expected to reduce BNC annualised costs by £72m.”

Completion of this transaction is further progress towards completing the restructuring of Barclays. Between its creation in 2014 and the end of 2015, Barclays Non-Core RWAs were reduced from £110bn to £47bn. This transaction results in a further decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately £1.8bn.

The Portuguese businesses transferred to Bankinter and Bankinter Vida today comprise around 1,000 banking and insurance employees and 84 branches.

Barclays continues to operate Barclaycard, Investment Banking and multinational Corporate Banking in Portugal.

In 2015, Barclays sold its Spanish retail banking business and UK Secured Lending portfolio, and also signed agreements to sell both its Portuguese and Italian retail banks.

well surely 1.448 is a good price. Nothing makes sense to me any longer but I've taken a punt here

5 April 2016
Barclays PLC

Publication of circular relating to the proposed sell down of shares in Barclays Africa Group Limited (“BAGL”)

https://www.home.barclays/content/dam/barclayspublic/docs/InvestorRelations/IRNewsPresentations/2016News/Important%20informationv2.pdf

From yesterday:

Further Non-Core disposal
07 Apr 2016

Barclays has signed an agreement with Bank of Singapore Limited, the wholly-owned private banking subsidiary of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC) to sell its Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong.

While an attractive business with strong growth potential, this Barclays WIM business, serving high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in Singapore and Hong Kong, was confirmed as no longer central to Barclays’ strategy and became part of Barclays Non-Core in March 2016.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “On 1 March I announced we would accelerate the rundown of Barclays Non-Core, which is key to creating a simpler, more focused core bank. The sale of our Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong marks further progress in our aggressive pursuit of Non-Core cost and risk weighted asset reductions.”

The purchase price will be 1.75% of Barclays WIM Singapore and Hong Kong’s assets under management (AUM1) at the completion of the transaction. Based on Barclays WIM Singapore and Hong Kong’s AUM of US$18.3bn2 at 31 December 2015, the indicative purchase price will be US$320m3. The current estimate is that the transaction will result in a pro forma decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately US$1.3bn4 at completion.

Clients of Barclays WIM in Singapore and Hong Kong will become clients of Bank of Singapore upon completion of the transaction. Transferring clients will then benefit from Bank of Singapore’s full product range that includes property and insurance financing, wealth planning, robust platform and advisory services as well as OCBC Bank’s extensive commercial banking capabilities in the region. Barclays remains committed to providing its clients with a full level of service until the transfer occurs.

Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Barclays Wealth, Entrepreneurs and Business Banking said: “We believe that in Bank of Singapore and its parent OCBC Bank we have found a buyer that satisfies our core criteria of maintaining a consistent service for our clients and that has the scope to integrate and enhance the careers of our colleagues. Our priority is supporting all our impacted colleagues and clients throughout this transition. I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the business we are selling for their hard work and professionalism, which has built strong client relationships over many years and has made this business so attractive to OCBC Bank.”

Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, said: “We see attractive value in Barclays’ strong and complementary private banking client base in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as its experienced and service-oriented wealth management team. We look forward to welcoming the clients and colleagues from Barclays’ Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong into the OCBC family. We will ensure that the integration is smooth and that Bank of Singapore supports the needs of its new clients with a more expanded suite of products and network. And, equally importantly, the enlarged platform will support the continued career development of our new colleagues.”

The transaction is targeted to close by the end of the year subject to court approval of a Singapore statutory scheme of transfer.

The transaction has no impact on our existing Corporate and Investment Banking businesses in Asia.

Barclays headcount drops 8,000 in 4 months
April 13, 2016 1:13 pm
Emma Dunkley and David Oakley

Barclays has shed 8,000 jobs in four months, the fastest headcount reduction in at least five years, as it steps up a big cost-cutting drive.

The reductions have come from a hiring freeze imposed by Jes Staley when he started as chief executive in December and cuts to the investment bank.

Link below for full article:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/486fc54e-0155-11e6-ac98-3c15a1aa2e62.html#axzz45iXqDE5c

Barclays CEO: I can see the ‘end of the game’ for the bank’s turnaround
By Seana Smith | Yahoo Finance – 11 hours ago

Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays (BCS), says his company’s turnaround efforts are in the “middle innings” and he can see the “end of the game.”

In an interview with Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer, Staley said the bank has clearly defined where it wants to go and on its way to becoming a transatlantic consumer, corporate, and investment bank anchored in London and New York.

“We want to have a core bank based in [London and New York], but also a presence in Asia and in Europe, which is generating a double-digit return on tangible equity. That’s our goal for the core bank,” said Staley. “We have a non-core bank of businesses we want to get out of … The goal is to wind down that non-core bank over 2016 and into 2017 so we’re left with a profitable core bank which we think is the future of Barclays going forward.”

How Barclays identifies regions to exit

Barclays is exiting Africa and scaling back its retail banking operations. The bank also agreed to sell its wealth and investment management business in Singapore and in Hong Kong to the Bank of Singapore for $320 million.

Staley believes that in order to execute a successful turnaround plan, a firm needs to accurately determine regions where its has a competitive advantage.

“You focus on where you think you have competitive advantages. We have a tier one level investment bank in New York and London with exposure in Asia and elsewhere,” said Staley. “Right now, that industry has got some real structural challenges to it, but we think we have a competitive advantage in that space, so that’s how you build that overall strategy going forward.”

No need to panic! Staley sees strength in the financial sector

Barclays is executing its turnaround plan during a volatile time for the financial industry as concerns about global economic growth, low energy prices, and near-zero interest rates weigh on results. But Staley is positive. While acknowledging it’s a challenging environment for banks, he thinks the sector has recovered “quite significantly” from the crisis of a number of years ago. “I think you see tremendous strength in terms of capital levels and great strength in terms of liquidity,” said Staley. “Once we see a normalization of interest rates, I think it will be a very attractive time for the industry down the road.”

Barclays is scheduled to report its first quarter 2016 results on April 27.

Amer Sajed appointed Chief Executive of Barclaycard
20 Apr 2016 10:14

Barclays has today confirmed the permanent appointment of Amer Sajed as Chief Executive Officer of Barclaycard, effective immediately.

Mr Sajed joined Barclaycard in 2006 from Citigroup, where he undertook a number of senior roles in cards and finance over the course of a 20-year career. In his 10 years with Barclays he has been CEO of Barclaycard’s businesses in the UK and US, and has also led Barclaycard’s payment services to businesses and corporations. He has served as interim Barclaycard CEO since May 2015.

Jes Staley, Barclays CEO, said: “Since joining Barclays in December of last year I’ve been impressed by Amer’s deep understanding of the global payments landscape. Barclaycard enjoyed its most successful year in 2015 and I am confident that under Amer’s leadership the business will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Amer Sajed said: “Barclaycard is a leading player in the field of global payments, playing a key role in the adoption of many of the new payment technologies we take for granted today such as chip & PIN, mobile, contactless and wearables. I am honoured to have been asked to lead the business in its 50th anniversary year and excited about our future prospects.”

About Barclaycard

Barclaycard, part of Barclays Bank PLC, is a leading global payment business that helps consumers, retailers and businesses to make and take payments flexibly, and to access short-term credit and point of sale finance.

Atlas Merchant Capital, Carlyle Group Team up to Bid for Barclays Africa Group
By Matina Stevis
Updated April 24, 2016 4:33 p.m. ET

Bob Diamond’s Atlas Merchant Capital and Carlyle Group will jointly raise funds for bid

NAIROBI, Kenya— Bob Diamond’s investment vehicle Atlas Merchant Capital has teamed up with major U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group to put together a bid for Barclays PLC’s stake in Barclays Africa Group, two people familiar with the situation said Sunday.

Mr. Diamond, who served as chief executive of Barclays PLC and resigned amid the Libor scandal, will use New York-based Atlas Merchant Capital to jointly fundraise with Carlyle, the people said.

Mr. Diamond -- tipped by analysts as a leading candidate to buy his former bank’s African business since Barclays confirmed it was for sale last month—and Carlyle haven't yet submitted a formal offer, the people familiar with the situation said. The timeline for a deal is uncertain given that Mr. Diamond and Carlyle have recently agreed to partner on this bid, and Barclays said in March that it would give any sale two to three years to materialize and wouldn’t rush into a fire sale.

A spokesman for Barclays PLC refused to comment. Carlyle Group and Mr. Diamond didn't immediately respond to calls for comment.

Barclays PLC

Q1 2016 Results Announcement
31 March 2016

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329350

Barclays profits fall 25% as costs rise
Laura Noonan in London
April 27, 2016 8:21 am

Barclays is speeding up the sale of some of its French businesses after higher costs caused the bank to miss earnings forecasts for the first quarter.

Pre-tax profits at the UK bank fell by a quarter to £793m, against the £846m expected by analysts. Operating expenses were £3.82bn versus the £3.64bn forecast, while net revenue was marginally ahead, at £5.04bn.

Shares in Barclays rose more than 4 per cent in the opening minutes of trading in London.

“Accelerating the disposal of our non-core unit is the key to creating a simpler, more focused Barclays, and to eliminating the drag on the performance of our strong core business,” said chief executive Jes Staley.

The French businesses employ about 1,000 people and include the bank’s retail, wealth and investment management business but not its corporate and investment bank. The units have been designated “non core” since 2014. Barclays said it is now in exclusive discussions with private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners over a sale.

AnaCap said it represented the opportunity to acquire an “attractive and established banking operation built on a team of highly talented individuals with exceptional relationships”.

Barclays is also in the process of selling its African business — potentially to a company founded by the bank’s former chief executive Bob Diamond — as well as its Asian wealth business and its Portuguese and Italian retail banks. Mr Staley described the sales as “significant steps forward”, and “tangible evidence” of Barclays’ progress.

But he admitted there was more to do to improve profitability at the investment banking division. “The performance of our corporate and investment bank was relatively resilient in a tough quarter, but there is more we must do to improve returns, and we are focused on management actions to do so,” Mr Staley said.

The corporate and investment bank, where Mr Staley has already speeded up restructuring, suffered a 31 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profit “primarily driven by a reduction in banking and markets income, increased credit impairment charges and higher operating expenses”, Barclays said.

Chief financial officer Tushar Morzaria said the corporate and investment bank’s income run rate was “slightly down” for April, but it was “too early to make any specific comment” on the second quarter performance.

The top US investment banks also endured a painful first quarter in their markets divisions, with revenues falling by an average of 26 per cent in the fixed income business and 14 per cent in equities. Trading was hit by volatile markets, low oil prices, rising US interest rates and fears for global economic growth.

The six biggest US banks all beat first-quarter earnings expectations but still posted significantly lower earnings for the three months than they did a year earlier.

Mr Staley said that overall his bank had made “good early progress” on the cost cutting and restructuring strategy it announced in March. Pre-tax profit at the “core” bank, which includes its continuing operations, rose 18 per cent in the quarter to £1.6bn.

“We continue to target cost reductions in the group,” he said. “We are on track to meet our 2016 guidance . . . and our longer-term target of a group cost to income ratio under 60 per cent.”

Barclay’s common equity tier 1 ratio — a key capital yardstick — declined slightly, from 11.4 per cent at the end of December to 11.3 per cent at the end of March, although the bank believes it will rebound.

Barclays pre-tax profits fall

StockMarketWire.com

Barclays reports a group pre-tax profit of GBP793m down from GBP1,057m a year ago. It said an 18% increase in core profit before tax to GBP1,608m was more than offset by an increase in non-core loss before tax of GBP815m (Q115: GBP�310m).

Group return on average tangible shareholders' equity (RoTE) of 3.8% (Q115: 4.0%). Core RoTE of 9.9% (Q115: 7.1%)

Group attributable profit decreased 7% to �433m, resulting in a basic earnings per share of 2.7p (Q115: 2.9p). Core attributable profit increased 53% to �950m, resulting in a basic earnings per share contribution of 5.8p (Q115: 3.8p).

Barclays UK delivered a strong underlying RoTE of 20.5% (Q115: 24.0%). Underlying profit before tax decreased 2% to �704m as lower income was partially offset by improved impairment, with underlying total operating expenses remaining broadly in line. Net interest margin remained stable at 3.62% (Q115: 3.60%)

Barclays Corporate & International delivered an underlying RoTE of 9.5% (Q115: 10.9%). Income increased 2% driven by growth in Consumer, Cards and Payments and a resilient income performance in the Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) despite challenging market conditions

Momentum in the rundown of Non-Core continued, with risk weighted assets (RWAs) decreasing a further �3bn to �51bn in the quarter. The announced sales of the Portuguese and Italian retail, and Asian wealth businesses are all targeted to complete during the year, and are expected to result in a further �3.4bn reduction in RWAs.

Group chief executive James E Staley said: "This quarter we have made good early progress against the strategy update we announced on the 1st of March. It is the first set of results as a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank operating under our new configuration of Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate & International, and they show a Core business performing well in a challenging environment.

"Core RoTE is 9.9%, within which Barclays UK posted an impressive 20.5% return on tangible equity. We can see clear growth opportunities, such as in our Consumer, Cards and Payments business, in which we want to continue to invest. The performance of our Corporate and Investment Bank was relatively resilient in a tough quarter, but there is more we must do to improve returns, and we are focused on management actions to do so.

"We continue to target cost reductions in the Group and we are on track to meet our 2016 guidance for the Core business of �12.8 billion, and our longer-term target of a Group cost to income ratio under 60%.

"Our CET1 ratio finished the quarter at 11.3%, with a clear path to reaching our end state target, and I expect the capital ratio to increase through the course of the rest of 2016.

"On Africa, we continue to explore opportunities to reduce our shareholding to a level that achieves regulatory deconsolidation, including capital market and strategic options, and we are pleased with the level of indicative interest in what is a high quality business. Barclays Africa is an important partner, and we are working closely with local management, including on the planning for the operational separation of the two businesses, in a way that will preserve value for shareholders in both Groups.

"The performance of the Core today shows the potential power of the Group once it is freed from the drag of Non-Core.

"We promised to accelerate the pace of progress in reducing Non-Core so that our Group performance converges with our Core performance within a reasonable timeframe. Since the 1st of January, we have made progress in exiting from Investment Banking in nine countries, completed the sale of our Portuguese retail, wealth and SME banking businesses, and are progressing other announced sales, including the Italian branch network, the Index business and our Asian wealth business, towards completion in 2016.

"As these deals complete we are reducing RWAs and, crucially, eliminating costs which have a direct impact on our profitability today and mask the true performance of our strong Core business. This is the work we need to complete."

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329416

Acceleration of Barclays Non-Core rundown continues
27 Apr 2016 07:05

Acceleration of Barclays Non-Core rundown continues

Barclays announces exclusive discussions for potential sale of French retail, and wealth and investment management business

Barclays has today announced that it has entered into exclusive discussions with AnaCap Financial Partners for the potential sale of its French Retail Banking operations including its network of 74 branches, life insurance business, and wealth and investment management operations. Any potential transaction is subject to a mandatory consultation period.

These discussions do not include Barclays’ corporate and investment banking businesses in France. Barclays will continue to operate corporate and investment banking in France.

Commenting on the agreement, Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive, said: “Accelerating the disposal of our Non-Core unit is the key to creating a simpler, more focused Barclays, and to eliminating the drag on the performance of our strong Core business. Today’s announcement, together with the sale of our Asia Wealth operations announced earlier this month, represent significant steps forward, and are tangible evidence of the progress we continue to make.

“Barclays’ French retail and wealth and investment management business is attractive, but no longer fits with our strategic ambitions. With its committed staff and strong customer and client relationships, it is well-placed to thrive under new ownership.

“This transaction, once completed, would effectively finish our exit from Continental European branch-based retail banking.”

28 April 2016
BARCLAYS PLC

AGM STATEMENTS

Chairman's 2016 AGM Statement

Good morning and welcome to Barclays' 2016 Annual General Meeting. This year sees Barclays 326th year, and my first as your chairman.

Today we are having two separate meetings - our Annual General Meeting, and to follow immediately, a General Meeting, to approve the sell down of our investment in Barclays Africa Group to a minority position and deconsolidated from an accounting perspective.

Full details from link below:

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5330975

Barclays targets 'clean and prosperous' 2018 as overhaul continues
By Sinead Cruise

Barclays Chairman John McFarlane (BARC.L) has pledged to deliver a "clean and prosperous" 2018 to investors, putting a deadline on a vast programme of restructuring and asset sales that will see staffing numbers fall by 50,000.

Speaking at the bank's annual general meeting (AGM) in London on Thursday, McFarlane thanked investors for their patience while Barclays runs down businesses it no longer sees as capable of generating appropriate returns, against a backdrop of rising regulatory costs and poor economic conditions.

Following these disposals, which include the sell-down of its 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa, McFarlane said the bank expected group full-time employees to reduce by around 50,000 people, resulting in a total headcount of 80,000 - almost half the staff employed at its peak.

The cost savings achieved from these cuts and the refocusing of the business would enable the bank to reintroduce a "respectable dividend level" and transform Barclays into a "significantly smaller, safer" bank, McFarlane said.

"For the past few years, we have produced either negligible retained profits or losses before dividends. Going forward we need to reverse this and generate superior returns out of our franchise," McFarlane said, in his first AGM statement as chairman.

"However it is worth remembering that we are in the process of turning around what was recently the largest bank in the world by assets," he added.

Chief Executive Jes Staley also took time to explain a decision to sacrifice part of the dividend to fund the revamp, but said the short-term pain was necessary to put Barclays in a position to grow payouts over time.

"Investing substantially in this company was one of the first things I did upon being appointed - and my interests are firmly aligned with yours," he said.

"However, I believe it is better to move quickly and decisively to eliminate the drag in this business now than to accept high levels of attrition on your returns for a much longer time than is necessary."

Staley also said the bank was working hard to relieve the pressure on returns from fines for past conduct failings and was seeking to resolve outstanding issues "as swiftly as possible".

"There will also be no let-up in the critically important work to transform Barclays' culture," he said.


(Editing by Mark Potter)

Barclays announces further Non-Core disposal - Agreement to sell its Barclaycard business in Spain and Portugal
28 Apr 2016 10:18

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) today announces that it has agreed to sell its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain to Bancopopular-e, a Spanish online bank 51% owned by Varde Partners and 49% owned by Banco Popular Espanol, S.A.

While the Barclaycard business in Portugal and Spain is an attractive and strong business it does not fit with Barclays’ strategy to focus on scale businesses in core territories going forward and therefore became part of Barclays Non-Core in March 2016.

The business comprises approximately £1.0bn of assets. It is being sold at a small premium to gross receivables and its sale will also result in a reduction in Non-Core costs. It is estimated that the transaction will result in a decrease in Risk Weighted Assets of approximately £0.9bn. Customers and employees will also transfer to Bancopopular-e. Completion, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to occur by the end of the year.

The transaction has no impact on Barclays’ existing corporate and investment banking businesses in Spain and Portugal, which continue to be important elements within the Group’s franchise.

Jes Staley, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, said:

“I am delighted by the speed with which we are continuing to reduce our Non-Core exposure and costs. Our credit card operation in Spain and Portugal is a very good business with a highly talented and dedicated workforce but no longer fits with our strategic ambitions. I am sure it will continue to thrive as part of the Bancopopular-e business.

“Agreeing the sale of this business is further tangible progress towards our target of managing down Risk Weighted Assets in Barclays Non-Core to around £20bn in 2017.”

15:45 Barclays PLC (BARC) Result of AGM

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5331195

PLACING OF 103.6 MILLION ORDINARY SHARES IN BARCLAYS AFRICA GROUP LIMITED ("BARCLAYS AFRICA")

5 May 2016

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5335256

Barclays launches its own contactless payments service for Android phones
12 May 2016 09:00

•Barclays is introducing a new service which will enable customers to use their compatible Android phone to make contactless payments

•Set-up is very quick and easy within the Barclays Mobile Banking app - eligible Barclays debit and credit cards appear automatically in the app and there is no need to enter card details

Barclays today announced it will be rolling out its own contactless payment service which will allow Barclays customers with an eligible NFC-enabled Android phone to pay quickly and easily at any of the 400,000 contactless locations in the UK and across the London transport network.

‘Contactless Mobile’ builds upon the functionality launched to Barclaycard customers earlier this year and sees Barclays become the first UK bank to offer its own, integrated service enabling contactless payments for both debit cards and credit cards on Android phones.

Contactless card payments have seen huge growth as consumers have recognised the ease, speed and convenience they offer. Incorporating Contactless Mobile into the Barclays Mobile Banking app is a natural extension for customers and will mean Barclays can offer contactless payments via a smartphone for both credit and debit card holders across the broadest range of handsets and operating systems.

Contactless Mobile enables customers to pay with their Android mobile device in a very similar way to using a physical contactless card. For payments of up to £30, customers simply tap their mobile device on the retailer terminal in the same way they would tap a physical card without needing to open an app, enter a PIN or verify with a fingerprint, making it quicker and simpler than other solutions. The service also allows contactless payments of between £30 and £100 by a tap of the mobile device, entering of the card’s normal PIN on the phone keypad, and tapping again.

The service is set up and managed within the Barclays Mobile Banking app, a convenient and familiar place for customers to manage their money which is used by 5 million Barclays customers who on average access the app 27 times per month. Set up is quick and easy as eligible Barclays debit cards and Barclaycard credit cards are automatically shown in the app meaning there is no need to enter card details. Integrating Contactless Mobile within the Barclays Mobile Banking app also means customers can view their Contactless Mobile transactions alongside their other account transactions in one familiar environment.

Contactless Mobile will be available in June. Once live, roll out to customers will be phased over a number of days and customers will be contacted by Barclays when the service becomes available.

Today’s announcement and other recent launches mean that Barclays and Barclaycard continue to offer the widest range of payment innovations designed to give customers unrivalled choice of paying for everyday goods and services, and sending and receiving money in a way that’s most convenient for them.


Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK, said: “Giving customers the choice about how to make everyday payments while making it really easy for people to use our services is why we’ve designed this new contactless payment functionality which will sit at the heart of our already popular mobile banking app. It’s all there, in one place, ready to go with no need to enter card details, delivering a brilliant experience in an instant.

“Barclays Contactless Mobile is the latest in a series of digital innovations we have launched that allow customers to ‘Pay it your way!’ - carrying out day to day transactions in the ways that suit them and we hope that it will help customers become more confident using digital solutions and new technologies.”

Barclays Non-Core rundown continues
16 May 2016 09:41

Barclays announces the sale of its precious metals storage business in the UK, including its vaulting facility and, subject to counterparty consent, the transfer of the associated client and operational contracts to ICBC Standard Bank.

The vault has capacity to hold 2,000 tonnes of gold and has been operational since 2012. Barclays announced its intended exit from precious metals in January 2016 and moved the business into Barclays Non-Core.

Neither party will be disclosing the financial terms of the deal.

Commenting on the sale, John Mahon, Co-Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “This sale represents further progress with our Non-Core rundown as we work to simplify Barclays’ operations and achieve our cost and capital reduction commitments.”

Barclays CEO Staley on Performance, Economy, Markets
1:37 PM BST
May 24, 2016

Barclays CEO Jes Staley discusses the bank's performance, risk of Brexit and the economy. He speaks with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-05-24/barclays-ceo-staley-on-performance-economy-markets

Accelerated rundown of Barclays Non-Core continues
01 Jun 2016 14:34

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) has today completed the sale of its insurance business in Italy to CNP Assurances.

37,000 customers and c.€700 million of Assets under Management will transfer to the purchaser as part of the deal in Italy. The sale also represents an annualised cost reduction of c.€5 million. Neither party will be disclosing further financial terms of the deal.

Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compañía de Seguros (BVP) was set up in 2009 to provide life insurance and pension products in Spain, Italy and Portugal. BVP has already sold its Portuguese insurance business to Bankinter Seguros de Vida, completed in April 2016.

Barclays also announced the proposed sale of its Italian retail bank to Chebanca! in December 2015. Barclays will continue to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy, and manage the remaining retail mortgage portfolio.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Co-Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “We continue to accelerate the rundown of Barclays Non-Core. As we sell these businesses, reducing cost, operational risk and capital allocation, we are revealing the underlying strength of the core business.”

Barclays: Can Jes do it?
Mark Baker
Published on: June 2016

Six months ago, Jes Staley took on a job that many of his peers said they did not envy. His task: to turn Barclays’ business performance around and create a clear strategic vision for a bank that had not adapted to a new regulatory and market environment. Work remains to be done, not least in agreeing a ring-fenced structure and improving returns at the investment bank. But the mood at Barclays appears to be brightening.



In 189 words, Barclays CEO Jes Staley can tell you his strategy. He has done just that in a video for staff. To communicate it, he gives an elevator pitch – and not from just any elevator. This one starts at Barclays’ London headquarters at One Churchill Place. When Staley gets out of it, he is standing at Barclays in New York, 745 7th Avenue.

Full Article From Link Below

http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3559073/Barclays-Can-Jes-do-it.html?single=true

Barclays announces fund for SMEs and entrepreneurs in Scotland
09 Jun 2016 09:00

Barclays has earmarked further capital to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland.

The bank is announcing a new £500m fund which has been introduced to address gaps in the current supply of finance for businesses in Scotland. It reflects Barclays’ commitment, in line with local government and economic strategy, to create a supportive environment for Scottish enterprise to grow.

Barclays currently looks after a high proportion of Scotland’s top 250 businesses, but has ambitious expansion plans to grow its presence across the board which includes small and medium businesses. To date, Barclays has provided over £500m to help Scottish SMEs obtain the necessary funding to grow their businesses with the new fund representing a commitment to double its support for businesses in Scotland.

With a strong team of accredited Relationship Directors, Agriculture & Real Estate specialists and High Growth Relationship Directors on the ground, the bank is expertly placed to help Scotland’s businesses regardless of size - from start-up stage, to scale up, and on to IPO.

Jamie Grant, Head of Business and Corporate Banking for Barclays Scotland said: “We believe we are equipped to help even more businesses realise their ambitions. We have a strong history of building relationships with many of the country’s leading companies while our global reach means we have the knowledge and expertise to help Scotland’s businesses compete on a world stage.

“We are committed to pioneering in digital, having been the first bank to launch Pingit, pre-assessed lending and, coming soon, our SmartBusiness service. Our newly launched high growth team means we can help the next generation of innovators and we want to be the bank of choice for anyone starting or growing their business.”

As part of this extended focus the bank recently delivered a £12m funding package to Ayrshire-based Lorimer Care Homes which enabled the business to acquire an additional three sites to its portfolio.

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Keith Brown said: “This is positive news and will be a real boost for Scotland’s SMEs, which are the lifeblood of our economy. We know it is crucial that viable SMEs are able to access a range of finance to start-up and grow their business, and I hope many businesses can benefit from today’s announcement from Barclays. Scotland is already a great place to do business, but the Scottish Government is determined to maintain a strongly competitive business environment, and ensure the conditions are right for SMEs to flourish. That will help stimulate economic growth and create and protect jobs across Scotland.”

The pledge follows Barclays’ latest commitment to support fast growing companies- Barclays High Growth & Entrepreneurs, which includes two direct funds for innovative companies: Innovation Finance and a venture debt fund.

Lena Wilson, Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise said: “This investment by Barclays is fantastic news for SMEs across Scotland. Access to funding is absolutely critical to enabling SME’s to thrive at home and around the world, supporting them to invest in innovation, workforce development, and international activity. We will continue to work closely with Barclays and our partners to support company growth.”

Accelerated rundown of Barclays Non-Core continues
10 Jun 2016 11:38

Barclays Bank PLC has today completed the sale and transfer of its Spanish pension assets and liabilities to Vidacaixa, S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros, a member of the Caixa Group.

35,000 customers and c.€350 million of Assets under Management will transfer to the purchaser as part of the agreement. The sale also represents further progress against Barclays cost and RWA reduction targets. Neither party will be disclosing further financial terms of the deal.

Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compañía de Seguros (BVP) provides life insurance and pension products in Spain, Italy and Portugal. BVP has already sold its Portuguese insurance business to Bankinter Seguros de Vida, completed in April 2016, and its Italian life insurance business to CNP Assurances, announced earlier this month.

Barclays completed the sale of its Spanish retail bank to CaixaBank S.A. in January 2015, and announced the proposed sale of its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal to Bancopopular-e in April 2016. Barclays continues to operate global corporate and investment banking in Spain.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Co-Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “This is another positive step in reducing the cost, operational risk and capital allocation within Barclays Non-Core, swiftly following the sale of our Italian insurance business last week. We are making good progress and continue to focus on our target of reducing RWAs in Barclays Non-Core to £20 billion by the end of 2017.”

About Barclays

Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.

With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

Get Financially Fit With Barclays Financial Wings
21 Jun 2016 11:46

Barclays has today launched Financial Wings, an online personal finance hub designed to give people the knowledge and confidence to take control of their money and build the skills required to bolster their financial health.

Research carried out by Barclays showed that only 44 percent of customers felt knowledgeable about financial issues, with as many as 20 percent openly admitting to finding the topic overwhelming and confusing.

Financial Wings is available to everyone and looks at the three key areas of finances: getting your finances started, achieving your financial goals and addressing money worries.

• Getting your finances started is designed to help people organise their money and planning their finances, e.g. whether what type of bank account best suits them, how to pay bills and how to understand their bank statement

• Achieving your financial goals is designed to help people look at how they can save and/or borrowing money, e.g. put money away for a rainy day or take out a mortgage

• Addressing money worries is designed to help make people in financial difficulty aware of the solutions that can help them pay down their debts and get back on track, e.g. debt management plans

The website employs gamification to help users engage with the information. Having completed the sections that they feel are relevant to their circumstances, users can test their knowledge and earn points in a series of games.

Clare Francis, Savings and Investing Expert at Barclays said:
“Financial Wings was created to empower people and give them the confidence to make better financial decisions. Every day we hear from customers who want to understand how to make the most of their money but find managing their finances a complex and daunting task. With Financial Wings we want to remove any fear or confusion by providing essential information in manageable chunks.

“For many of us the best way to learn is by doing, which is why we have included gaming elements within the website. We are committed to ensuring the nation is financially fit and believe that Financial Wings will help many to achieve this.”

Barclays partnered with consumer bodies including The Money Advice Trust, Which? and StepChange to develop content for Financial Wings.

Speaking about the launch of Barclays’ Financial Wings initiative David Haigh, director of financial capability at the Money Advice Service, said*:
“We welcome today’s launch of Barclays’ Financial Wings initiative. Equipping people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their money well is vital to improving the stubbornly low levels of financial capability across the UK.”

UK votes to leave the European Union
24 Jun 2016



Barclays Group Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said: ‘The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. This is a significant decision and there will be many questions asked in the coming days and weeks about what happens next. The answers are complex but our position is not: we will not break our stride in delivering the Barclays of the future.

‘Barclays has stood in service of our customers and clients for over 325 years. We have been here for them through equally profound changes before. And no matter what has been laid before us, we have been here to help them achieve their ambitions.

‘That does not change today. And through the uncertainty of the months ahead, be in no doubt that we are ready to do whatever it takes to uphold that promise.

‘The strategy we announced on 1 March was not conditional on the UK remaining in the EU. We are a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank, anchored in the UK and the US. That remains the core of our strength and the Barclays of the future.’


a) What has Barclays done to prepare for a leave vote?

As you would expect, Barclays has put in place detailed plans for the eventuality that the UK referendum resulted in a vote to leave the European Union.

Barclays is prepared for any short-term volatility in the markets.

Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank, anchored in our two home markets of the UK and the US.

We have a strong business with a well-managed balance sheet and we are prepared for a number of potential scenarios.

b) What impact do you expect the leave vote to have on Barclays and its financial outlook?

Barclays is a stable and well capitalised international franchise with earnings diversification by geography and product mix.

While we expect potentially significant short-term volatility in the markets, we are well prepared for a number of eventualities.

c) Will there be any changes to Barclays' strategy, particularly the status as a ‘transatlantic’ bank?

The strategy remains the same – Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank, anchored in our two home markets in the leading financial centres of the world, the UK and the US.

We are confident that our current strategy will deliver a well-balanced and successful business that generates long-term sustainable returns.

As you would expect, we will continue to monitor the situation and respond as appropriate to any changes in our operating environment, while focusing on the immediate needs of our clients.

BARCLAYS KEEPS LENDING TAPS ON AFTER REFERENDUM RESULT
01 Jul 2016 09:00

Following the EU referendum result Barclays has announced it will continue its high levels of SME lending to UK businesses.

Under the announcement Barclays is:

Reaffirming that Barclays is well positioned to meet demand from SMEs for lending

•Maintaining its aim to beat last year’s strong record of £5.4bn in SME lending
•Confirming the bank has no plans to withdraw or increase the competitive rates it offers due to current economic uncertainty
•Committing to the 300,000 UK SMEs currently eligible for an instant overdraft or loan that they will continue to have access to these funds instantly in branch, by phone or online should they need it. Barclays will also continue to grow this market leading proposition.
•Providing additional business managers in our call centres who are on hand to support and guide SMEs on how to plan for uncertain times
•Boosting its specific funding for industries with high exposure to economic change including the technology and agriculture sectors, with further details to be announced in the coming days

Ian Rand, Chief Executive of Business Banking, Barclays, said: “Following the referendum many businesses will be reassessing their plans for growth and may need to re-plan or increase the resilience of their finances. It’s in times like these when strong banks should stand tall and help ensure the stability in our economy by continuing our commitment to lend. SMEs should know that even if their outlook is looking less clear, their bank is on their side and will support them through thick and thin.”

Barclays announces £100mn fund to boost UK Agriculture
05 Jul 2016 09:00

•Barclays ramps up support for UK agriculture with dedicated loan fund of £100mn* to boost industry

•Fund dedicated for farmers to invest in business efficiency, agri-tech and/or diversify into new revenue streams

•Support aids sector in time of market volatility and long term low prices that have put strain on the industry

Barclays is making £100mn available in loans to boost the UK agriculture sector, to help future-proof the industry for the next generation, improve efficiency and create additional revenue streams to limit effects of market volatility.

The multi-million pound fund will be available for farmers looking to modernise their infrastructure, helping to streamline their farming processes and increase efficiency. It will also assist farmers looking to reduce their farm’s exposure to market volatility by providing funds to invest in viable diversification projects either within agriculture or from non-agriculture sources.

The fund is in in addition to the ongoing support that Barclays offers to the sector. Loans from the fund have fixed fees starting at 0.6% for a loan term of 0-5 years, 0.75% for loans that are 6-10 years and rising to 0.90% for loan terms of 11-15 years.

Mark Suthern, Head of Agriculture at Barclays, said: “We are committed to supporting British farming and we are dedicating £100mn in lending solely for use within the farming industry to help boost the industry’s profitability and efficiency. This fund will provide essential investment; the fund will also make it easier for farmers to find alternate sources of income, decreasing the impact of price volatility on farm incomes.”

The fund comes at a time when the UK agriculture sector faces a number of challenges that have placed increasing pressure on farmers. From concerns about commodity prices, which have remained steadfastly low, to poor weather impacting output, adding further pressures to the industry.

Oliver McEntyre, National Agricultural Strategy Director at Barclays, added: “After the turbulent times of the last few years, many farm businesses have found ways to improve efficiency, this fund is released to assist the progression of this – it is not about increasing production, it is about helping our customers access the finance to invest in producing the same quality and quantity of product for less cost, or finding solid alternative income streams.”

Barclays supports over 20,000 UK farmers and, with a team of over 120 Agriculture Managers across the UK, has one of the biggest Agriculture banking team’s in the UK making it Britain’s leading agricultural bank.

ONS Retail stats: Barclays' comment
21 Jul 2016 10:00

http://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/june2016

Commenting on today’s ONS Retail Sales figures, Ian Gilmartin, Head of Retail & Wholesale at Barclays, said:

“Although they missed economists’ expectations, the retail figures were better than many in the industry expected in June. There’s been a lot of focus on the impact the run-up to the EU referendum had on purchases. It may have had some influence on big ticket items, but I think this result shows that it’s important not to overplay the significance of the lead up to the vote on consumers’ buying decisions. We were also in full referendum mode in May, and yet managed to post a bumper set of results.

Despite the weather again letting us down in June, which really hurt footfall and meant that some summer lines continued to struggle, the industry held its own supported by more online growth. Footfall was further challenged by events like the Euro championship taking people off the high street so to deliver 4.3% year-on-year volume growth, accompanied by an increase in spend is impressive and retailers deserve credit for posting these numbers.

Looking at the last part of the month, after the referendum result was known, it’s too early to say what the impact on sales has been. The movement in the value of the pound will certainly have had a major effect on retailers’ short and longer term planning. We need to look carefully at the data over the next few months and make sure that the industry is adapting appropriately as we get more clarity on what the public’s decision means for the retail sector.”

Barclays confirms sale of shareholding in VocaLink to MasterCard
21 Jul 2016 13:32


Barclays confirms the sale of the majority of its shareholding in VocaLink Holdings Limited to MasterCard Incorporated for £104 million.

VocaLink operates payments technology platforms on behalf of UK payment schemes including BACS, Faster Payments and LINK. Barclays is one of the five largest shareholders, and was one of the original banks that founded Voca and LINK in 2003, which later merged to form VocaLink.

Barclays’ 15.18% shareholding will be reduced to c.1.5%. The agreement also provides the potential for a further maximum earn-out of £29 million if VocaLink’s performance targets are met.

The transaction is estimated to result in a pro forma CET1 ratio increase of c.3.4 bps upon completion, which is subject to regulatory approval.


About Barclays

Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.

With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

Barclays PLC
29th July 2016

Results Announcement-Half-year Report

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5387954

Barclays shares jump as transatlantic refocus starts to pay off
Business | Fri Jul 29, 2016 2:17pm BST
LONDON | By Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise



A corporate makeover at Barclays (BARC.L) under CEO Jess Staley showed signs of paying off on Friday as the British bank reported an improved performance in its key businesses, helping send its shares up more than 8 percent.

Staley in March set out a strategy to simplify the bank's structure and seek higher shareholder returns through the sale of the bulk of its Africa business and other assets, becoming a "transatlantic" bank focused on the United States and Britain.

It said on Friday profits from its core businesses, including consumer and commercial lending, credit cards and investment banking, rose 19 percent to 2.4 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in the first half.

Group pretax profit fell 21 percent to 2 billion pounds, largely due to a loss of 1.9 billion on the non-core assets, which the bank has recommitted to offload, despite prospects of a possible economic downturn following Britain's vote to quit the European Union.

"Our assessment is that the Brexit vote in the UK will have no effect on our ability to run down Non-Core at an accelerated pace and we therefore remain confident in reiterating our goal of closing Non-Core in 2017," Staley told analysts.


The bank booked a 372 million pound impairment on the French retail banking business it is in talks to sell to AnaCap Financial Partners.

Other assets earmarked for sale include its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal as well as almost all of its stake in its Africa unit. It has already sold its Asia wealth operations and Italian banking business.

"These are reassuringly good numbers," Brian Cullen, investment manager at S.W. Mitchell Capital, which owns Barclays shares, told Reuters. "We like the positive tone and the fact that they have resisted temptation to blame Brexit for changes in guidance."

Shares were trading up 8.6 percent at 159 pence by 1245 GMT (8:45 a.m. ET).


ON COURSE TO DELIVER

Confidence in Britain's economic outlook has dropped sharply since voters opted to leave the EU on June 23, triggering a fresh bout of pessimism in a sector bruised by the costs of tighter regulation, restructuring and record low interest rates.

But Staley said the bank had lent 2 billion pounds of mortgages to UK homebuyers since the Brexit vote, 8 percent more than the same period last year.

Barclays finance director Tushar Morzaria said the bank had no plans to accelerate branch closures in Britain, in contrast to Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) which on Thursday announced a fresh 200 closures.

"We haven't put a target out there but it certainly won't be more than 100 this year," Morzaria said.

Barclays' investment banking unit saw income fall 5 percent in the first half as plunging revenue from a pared-back stock trading division offset improved returns from credit trading.

Total operating expenses fell by a tenth to 7.7 billion pounds, partly reflecting reduced litigation and conduct charges and tighter compensation costs. It said it remained on course to deliver a full-year cost target of 12.8 billion pounds on its core unit.

"Current-year profitability is being depressed by the accelerated run-off of non-core (assets) and we expect this drag to materially reduce in coming years," Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood said in a note.

Barclays has already cut its dividend from 6.5 pence per share to 3 pence from 2016 in order to maintain capital levels while it grapples with the expense of its revamp.

Barclays also took an additional 400 million pound impairment charge for consumer redress related to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance products in Britain, taking its total to 2 billion pounds.

The bank's core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, rose to 11.6 percent from 11.3 percent at the end of March, better than some analysts' expectations but still the lowest among major British lenders.

"Barclays is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character at the moment, but Doctor Jekyll is starting to gain more control, as all the grisly bits of the bank get wound down," Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in a note.


(Editing by David Holmes and Mark Potter)

Barclays PLC

2016 EU-wide stress test results

Barclays was subject to the 2016 EU‐wide stress test conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA), in cooperation with the Bank of England (BoE), the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission (EC) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).

Barclays notes the announcements made on 29 July 2016 by the EBA on the EU‐wide stress test. The stress test results in a reduction of Barclays CRD IV Fully Loaded Common Equity Tier 1 ("CET1") ratio to 7.3% from the 2015 year-end position of 11.4%. The 2016 EU‐wide stress test does not contain a pass fail threshold.

The adverse stress test scenario was set by the ECB/ESRB and covers a three‐year time horizon (2016‐2018). The stress test has been carried out applying a static balance sheet assumption as at December 2015, and therefore does not take into account subsequent or future business strategies and management actions. It is not a forecast of Barclays' profits.

While the results of the exercise will constitute an input to the 2016 supervisory review process, Barclays' capital requirements to cover against stress risks will primarily be informed by the BoE stress test, which is due to be published later this year.

Barclays' 30 June 2016 CET1 ratio was 11.6%, and Barclays remains comfortable with its target of building the ratio further to maintain a 100-150bps CET1 buffer above future regulatory CET1 levels. Barclays' 30 June 2016 CET1 ratio of 11.6% would provide a stress buffer of c.4% above the 2016 BoE stress test systemic reference point. Barclays intends to maintain a buffer around these levels in end-state.

Barclays' Euro-denominated results in the EBA template can be found at www.barclays.com/barclays-investor-relations/investor-news.html. The standardised disclosure templates have been developed by the EBA to help improve comparability and consistency between the stress test results of participating banks. The templates include detailed information on composition of capital, profit and loss, credit risk, sovereign exposures, securitisations, risk weighted assets and non-performing/forborne exposures.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5389035

Barclays publishes complaints data for H1 2016
26 Aug 2016 10:00

Barclays has today published total reportable complaints figures for the first half of 2016.

A full breakdown of its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportable complaints is available here: www.home.barclays/complaints.

In summary, compared to H1 2015:

•Complaints excluding Payment Protection Insurance are down 10%

•Banking complaints are down 11%

•Overall complaints levels remain steady (2% increase year on year)

Matt Hammerstein, Head of Client and Customer Experience at Barclays, said:

“We want everyone using Barclays to have a brilliant customer experience and will not stop until we achieve this. We are listening to feedback so we can fix the things that aren’t working and exceed what our customers expect from their bank.”

As part of our on-going commitment to deliver products and services that address what our customers want and need from their bank we have:

•Introduced voice security technology for all our customers to make our telephone banking service both easier to use and more secure. The technology identifies the caller based solely on their voice without the need to recall security questions or passwords. Not only does this make the process quicker and more stress free, it also helps protect our customers from fraud as voice is a highly personal form of identification.

•Worked to help our customers identify and protect themselves from fraud. We offer a dedicated fraud website where our customers can access everything they need to know, including top fraud prevention tips. We are the only UK bank to run a national TV advertising campaign warning people of some of the tactics used by scammers. Our Digital Eagles have also been working with our business customers to provide Cyber Security Business Club events across the country.

•Launched SmartBusiness to offer the power of a market research department to time-starved small business owners. SmartBusiness analyses business banking and card payment transactions to present data and intelligent insights to help customers manage and grow their business, identify opportunities and take informed actions and decisions.

•Opened Eagle Labs to give customers and non-customers in local businesses and communities the opportunity to learn about new technologies by providing workspaces and tools. We now have 5 Eagles Labs open across the country in under-utilised spaces in our branches and offices.

•Created a dedicated Armed Forces portal, where we host all our existing products and services that are relevant to the military community in one easily accessible place making it simpler for serving and former military personnel to understand and access our services.

•Signed up our 500,000th Barclaycard customer to their free Experian Credit Score, helping them to better understand their financial footprint and get on top of their finances. Barclaycard launched the initiative in November last year, becoming the first financial services brand in the UK to offer customers free access to their Experian Credit Score online and on-the-go via the Barclaycard app.

•Improved existing services, such as redesigning the instructions for our Pinsentry device to make it clearer and easier for our customers. As a result of our changes, each month around 55,000 additional payments are now being made successfully by customers using their Pinsentry device.

In July, Barclays was also ranked first for complaints handling within the financial services sector in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index which is published by the Institute of Customer Service.

Barclays Non-Core rundown accelerates: Sale of Italian retail banking network completes
30 Aug 2016 09:21

Barclays PLC announces today it has completed the sale of its Italian retail banking network to CheBanca!, a member of the Mediobanca Group.

The transaction shows further progress in the rundown of Barclays Non-Core, resulting in a 30 June 2016 pro forma decrease in Risk Weighted Assets of £0.6bn and a loss before tax of £258m which was booked in Q4 2015.

Barclays’ residual mortgage portfolio and other Non-Core retail, wealth and corporate loans will remain part of Barclays Non-Core, with the intention to exit or rundown over time.

Barclays will continue to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the Italian retail network and wish them well for the future. Their commitment and professionalism will be a great asset to CheBanca!, just as it has been to Barclays.”

“Accelerating the rundown of Barclays Non-Core is a key part of our strategy to close the gap between the Group’s returns and those in our strong Core business. Last week we completed the sale of our analytics and index business to Bloomberg, and today’s announcement highlights again how we are on track to reach £20bn RWAs by the end of 2017.”

1 September 2016

Barclays PLC - Total Voting Rights and Capital

In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 5.6.1R, Barclays PLC notifies the market that as of 31 August 2016, Barclays PLC's issued share capital consists of 16,917,183,163 Ordinary shares with voting rights.

There are no ordinary shares held in Treasury.

The above figure (16,917,183,163) may be used by shareholders (and others with notification obligations) as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Barclays PLC under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5407376

My top up at 136p a couple of weeks ago is looking good.

Well driver yer spooked the market there! :-)

Bj
Also spooked HSBC topped up at 452p at the same time.

Barclays and Wave complete world first blockchain trade finance transaction
07 Sep 2016 09:00

Barclays and innovative start-up company Wave have become the first organisations to execute a global trade transaction using blockchain technology.

The letter of credit transaction between Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) and Seychelles Trading Company is the first to have trade documentation handled on the new Wave platform, with funds sent via Swift. It is hoped this landmark transaction could herald a new era of simpler, safer and faster trade finance.

Currently trade transactions of this nature often involve a high number of participants in different jurisdictions around the world, which in turn requires a significant amount of paperwork, counter-signing and courier journeys.

The new blockchain based system developed by Wave uses distributed ledger technology to ensure that all parties can see, transfer title and transmit shipping documents and other original trade documentation through a secure decentralised network, eliminating many of the current inefficiencies in international trade. The new system could therefore speed up trade transactions, reduce costs for companies around the world and reduce the risk of documentary fraud.

Companies around the world stand to save significant costs and time, with the shipping industry and financial institutions expected to be some of the biggest beneficiaries. Barclays has identified substantial direct cost savings that can be made on courier costs alone using the Wave system, and it could also bring down the time taken to complete an end to end trade finance transaction from days to a few hours.

Wave was one of eleven companies to have gone through the Barclays Accelerator programme in New York last summer, during which time it received expert mentoring from the bank. Since then it has been working with Barclays’ Trade & Blockchain team in the UK and South Africa to explore the various use cases of its innovative technology. Barclays is also seeking to involve other banks in supporting adoption of Wave’s system, with the hope that this can develop into an industry wide improvement in how trade documentation is managed.

This announcement follows other blockchain firsts and exploratory work by Barclays. Last year, the bank signed a proof of concept with Safello to explore how blockchain technologies can be harnessed in the financial services sector. Barclays was part of the initial group of banks to join the R3 consortium designed to spearhead crypto technology solutions in financial services and also was the first big British bank to form a partnership with a digital currency firm, Circle, facilitating social payments on the blockchain using Circle's payments app by providing the underlying fiat currency accounts. More recently, Barclays, with its Smart Contract Templates application, publically demonstrated R3’s corda platform for the first time.

Baihas Baghdadi, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Barclays, said: “One of the biggest headaches in global trade currently is the vast movement of paper required to facilitate transactions, with multiple organisations in the chain. That is why we’ve been very keen to partner with Wave in using blockchain technology to save time and money for our clients, and potentially transform trade finance for businesses around the world.”

Gadi Ruschin, CEO at Wave said: “Effective use of blockchain technology really can have a huge impact on the future of trade. By adopting our system, trade can be done more easily and more cheaply. Studies show that as much as 5% of the cost of a trade transaction comes from the handling of documentation, so there is a significant opportunity to improve this element of the trading process. We think we’ve got the right answer, and look forward to working with Barclays to develop it further and create an industry wide solution.”

David O’Rourke, Group Trade Finance Manager at Ornua Co-operative, said: “Moving to paperless trade would be hugely beneficial in supporting the supply chain, through reduced costs, error free documentation, and fast transfer of original documents to our customers worldwide.”

Following the successful pilot Barclays and Wave will be working with a select group of trade finance clients to develop the service further.

Barclays Runs Largest Ever Hackathon in Financial Services
27 Sep 2016 13:39

Last weekend saw Barclays run the largest ever hackathon in financial services across two continents as part of its continued drive to identify new and innovative products and services for the banking industry.
 
The Rise Hackathon: Episode II – The Bank Awakens saw 547 teams and 1,045 participants compete over 36 hours on Saturday and Sunday in Mumbai, India, and Manchester, UK, where Barclays has two of its Rise innovation hubs.  Rise is Barclays’ open innovation programme – a network of physical hubs and virtual networks designed to stimulate the growth of innovative start-ups operating in the financial technology (fintech) sector.
 
The hackathon was designed to address the challenges and opportunities presented to the banking industry by the introduction of the Directive on Payment Services (PSD2), a new European banking regulation coming into effect in 2018.  Barclays invited a global network of developers, start-ups and fintechs to take part in the weekend’s hackathon to explore some of the best and most innovative emerging ideas and disruptive technologies that could help shape the future of banking.
 
Michael Harte, Barclays Head of Group Innovation said: “Hackathons allow us to dynamically collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the global fintech start-up communities around the world. It’s about our staff co-creating solutions with external teams; coming together for 36 hours to work on specific customer and business solutions - an intense burst of idea storming and experimental hacks to build innovative prototypes and minimum viable products or features for customers.  Rapid collaboration through hacks helps fuel and accelerate innovation to benefit customers and clients across the globe.”
 
The hackathon marked the first time Barclays has released its APIs (application programming interfaces) to external developers via its API store – demonstrating how the bank is shifting its focus even further towards open innovation; a willingness to share its internal data and technology to work together with the start-up community to drive innovation for the benefit of customers and clients.  Peter Josse, CIO for Barclays UK said: “We understand the critical importance of digital and data and the role they’re playing in reshaping the financial services industry. We’re passionate about leading the way for open banking and providing our customers and clients with secure, resilient next gen products and services.”
 
The hackathon was done in partnership with over 20 of the bank’s technology partners, including Google, Twitter, IBM, Amazon and Microsoft, offering the participating teams support from a range of leading industry experts to help grow and develop their innovative ideas.
 
The hackathon took place at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai, in partnership with Acehacker and at Barclays’ Rise hub in Manchester in partnership with Software City Global and Central Working. Across the two sites, there were 105 working prototypes created and 6 winners selected.  Prizes included £1,500 (1,50,000 INR) for the winning teams, who also  have the opportunity to be supported by Barclays in developing their prototypes into real life solutions. 
 
For more information visit http://www.risehackathon.com/

From yesterday:

04 October 2016
 
Barclays Non-Core progress continues with sale of Barclays Bank Egypt
 
Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") has today agreed to sell its Retail and Corporate Banking business in Egypt ("Barclays Bank Egypt") to Attijariwafa Bank S.A. 
 
The transaction is estimated to result in a proforma Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio benefit of c.10bps on completion, in part reflecting an expected reduction in risk weighted assets of approximately £2bn. This proforma is calculated as at 30 June 2016, and does not reflect factors affecting the Group's CET1 ratio since 30 June 2016.
 
Barclays Bank Egypt has approximately 1,500 employees and 56 branches.  Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, and is currently expected to occur by the end of 2016.
 
Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: "I am pleased to announce a further reduction in our Non-Core business. Today's announcement demonstrates our continued focus on improving the Group's returns and our ability to execute our strategy quickly."
 
 "I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in Egypt.  It is their hard work, professionalism and strong customer and client relationships that have made this business so attractive to Attijariwafa Bank S.A."
 
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5427040

Barclays announces agreement to sell its UK Trust business
06 Oct 2016 12:23

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) today announces that it has signed an agreement to sell its UK Trust business to ZEDRA, an independent global specialist in trust, corporate and fund services, with offices in 10 jurisdictions.

While an attractive business with strong growth potential, the UK Trust business is no longer central to Barclays’ strategy and was moved to Barclays Non-Core.

Clients of Barclays UK Trust business will become clients of ZEDRA upon completion of the transaction. Transferring clients will then benefit from ZEDRA’s full product range. Barclays remains committed to providing its UK Trust customers and clients with a full level of service until the transfer occurs.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “The sale of the UK Trust business represents further progress in reducing the portfolio of Barclays Non-Core. In 2016 alone we have agreed the sale of Barclays Bank Egypt, our Asian Wealth and Southern Europe cards businesses, completed the sale of our Portuguese retail bank and entered exclusive discussions for the potential sale of our French retail network. Our ongoing Barclays Non-Core progress is a key element of the Group strategy announced on 1 March."

Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Barclays Wealth, Entrepreneurs and Business Banking said: “Barclays already holds a minority stake in the ZEDRA following the sale of the Offshore Trusts business in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland to the same group in January 2016. The minority stake demonstrates Barclays’ interest in the ongoing success of this business and its commitment to supporting continuing relationships with clients and the advisory community.

“We know from experience that in ZEDRA we have found a buyer that satisfies our core criteria of being able to maintain exceptional service for our clients, is able to integrate and enhance the careers of our colleagues and who demonstrated a commitment to taking this business forward. Our priority is supporting all our impacted colleagues and clients throughout this transition. I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the business we are selling for their hard work and professionalism, which has built strong client relationships over many years and has made this business so attractive to ZEDRA.”

Niels Nielsen, ZEDRA CEO said: “This is an important strategic acquisition for us and we welcome the staff and clients of Barclays UK Trust business to the ZEDRA Group. The move adds to our UK capabilities and other services we already provide. This development marks another step in our growth plan offering clients a balanced and global geographic reach.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the sale are not disclosed. The sale is expected to have a minimal impact on Barclays’ reported financials.

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. 
 

Barclays announces further sale of Italian Non-Core assets (Font "5" in blue)
12 Oct 2016 10:30

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) has today agreed the sale of a portfolio of salary secured loans in Italy to IBL Banca S.p.A.
 
The portfolio forms part of Barclays Non-Core and comprises c. £260m of gross receivables. The sale will reduce Non-Core Risk Weighted Assets by a further c. £170m and will be broadly neutral to Barclays’ CET1 ratio on completion. 
 
Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, commented: “Last week we announced agreements to sell our Egyptian bank and our UK Trust business. Today’s announcement further highlights the momentum we have in Barclays Non-Core and the progress we’re making.”
 
Completion, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2017.
 
Barclays completed the sale of its Italian retail banking network in August 2016, and continues to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy. Barclays’ residual mortgage portfolio and other Non-Core retail, wealth and corporate loans in Italy will remain part of Barclays Non-Core, with the intention to exit or rundown over time.

Broker Forecast - Investec issues a broker note on Barclays PLC
BFN
Investec today upgrades its investment rating on Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) to buy (from hold).

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5434495

Q3 2016 Results
Thursday, 27 October 2016

Announcement Q3 2016 Results Announcement (PDF, 1.4MB)

Management Speech Q3 2016 Results Management Speech (PDF, 216KB)

Presentation Q3 2016 Presentation (PDF, 0.7MB)

Webcast Q3 2016 Results webcast replay
Replay dial in:
+44 (0)121-260-4861 (all locations)
1-844-230-8058 (US)
Access code: 4188123# (this facility will be available until 24 November 2016)

Barclays completes sale of life risk insurance book in Spain to Vidacaixa
01 Nov 2016 09:30

Barclays has completed the sale and transfer of its Spanish life risk insurance book to Vidacaixa, S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros, a member of the Caixa Group.

As part of the agreement, 105,000 insurance policies and c.€70m of insurance liabilities (together with their related assets) will transfer to the purchaser. The sale represents further progress against Barclays' cost and Risk Weighted Asset reduction targets. Neither party will be disclosing further financial terms of the deal.

Up until the beginning of 2016, Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compañía de Seguros, S.A.U. (BVP) provided life insurance and pension products in Spain, Italy and Portugal. BVP sold its Spanish pensions assets and liabilities to Vidacaixa in June 2016. This year it has also sold its Portuguese insurance business to Bankinter Seguros de Vida, and its Italian life insurance business to CNP Assurances.

Barclays completed the sale of its Spanish retail bank to CaixaBank S.A. in January 2015, and announced the proposed sale of its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal to Bancopopular-e in April 2016. Barclays continues to operate investment banking and corporate banking services for global companies in Spain.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “We continue to make good progress with the sale of non-core assets, reducing RWA within the unit and simplifying Barclays overall. In the last month, we have announced the sales of Barclays Bank Egypt, our UK Trusts business, and a loan portfolio in Italy.”

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.home.barclays .

Barclays Non-Core: Sale of Irish insurance businesses
08 Nov 2016 09:55

Barclays Bank PLC today announces it has agreed to sell Barclays Insurance (Dublin) Designated Activity Company and Barclays Assurance (Dublin) Designated Activity Company to Monument Re Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The two businesses provide underwriting services for Payment Protection Insurance and Income Protection policies, which Barclays ceased to sell between 2010 and 2012. The sale includes the portfolio of c.500,000 remaining policies and related licences. Barclays will retain any PPI-related risks associated with the portfolio.

Barclays Bank Ireland operations, including Corporate Banking and Wealth and Investment Management, will continue to provide a full range of banking services as normal. All employees will transfer to Monument Re Limited upon completion, which is expected in Q1 2017, subject to regulatory approval.

Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core commented: “This sale marks another step forward for Barclays Non-Core as we continue to manage down costs and risk-weighted assets, and simplify the activities of the Group more broadly. We are confident that our colleagues in these businesses will have a positive future with Monument and we thank them for their hard work and support over many years.”

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

Sale of Barclaycard Southern European card business underlines Barclays Non-Core progress
11 Nov 2016 11:10

Barclays Bank PLC has completed the sale of its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain to WiZink Bank S.A., a Spanish online bank formerly known as Bancopopular-e, which is 51% owned by Varde Partners and 49% owned by Banco Popular Español, S.A.

The business comprises approximately £1.2bn of assets and was sold at a small premium to gross receivables, with customers and employees transferring to WiZink. The sale will also result in a reduction in Risk Weighted Assets of £1.0bn and a reduction in Non-Core costs.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, commented: “During 2016 we have made significant headway in the reduction of our Non-Core unit, a key component of our Group strategy. We have completed the sale of our risk analytics and index business, Portuguese and Italian retail banks, offshore trusts business and our UK precious metals storage facilities. We have also entered into exclusive discussions for the potential sale of our French retail bank, and agreed to sell our Asian Wealth and Egyptian retail banking businesses. The sale of the Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal is further tangible progress towards our target of reducing Non-Core Risk Weighted Assets to c.£23 billion in 2017.”

“The Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain is a good business with a highly talented and dedicated workforce but no longer fits with our strategic ambitions. I am sure it will continue to thrive as part of WiZink.”

The sale was announced in April 2016 and the completion follows receipt of regulatory and other applicable approvals.

Barclays continues to operate its corporate and investment banking businesses in Spain and Portugal, which are important elements within the bank’s franchise.

barcs are going to rocket up and away .over the next 3 months

Barclays launch Contactless Cash
28 Nov 2016 09:00


•Barclays is launching the UK’s first contactless mobile cash service – offering customers a quicker, more secure way to withdraw their money

•Customers can withdraw up to £100 in-branch, with just a tap of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card

•The service will be piloted in the North before rolling-out across over 180 UK-wide Barclays branches

Barclays is launching the UK’s first contactless mobile cash service, offering customers a quicker, more secure way to withdraw their money.
 
The service is initially being piloted in the North before rolling out to over 180 Barclays branches in the New Year. It will be available on over 600 in-branch machines, allowing customers to withdraw cash with just a tap of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card.
 
There are three different ways customers will be able to use this service:
 
Android Smartphone – Insert amount and PIN on Barclays Mobile Banking and tap to withdraw

•Those in a hurry can save time by logging in to their Barclays Mobile Banking app to pre-select the amount of cash they want to withdraw and insert their PIN. They then have 30 seconds to tap their phone against the contactless reader on the in-branch machine, which will automatically dispense their cash.

Android Smartphone or Contactless Debit Card – Tap and complete on machine

•Barclays customers with an Android smartphone or contactless debit card only need to tap their phone/card against the contactless reader, before entering their PIN on the machine and withdrawing their cash as normal.
Whilst giving many customers access to cash using only their smartphone, Contactless Cash also boasts increased security. Whether using your smartphone or card, it removes the risk of magnetic card skimming and distraction fraud, as the device never needs to leave your hand.
 
Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK said: “We are always looking for new ways to make our customers lives easier and their finances even more secure. Our customers now expect to be able to use their smartphone to make their everyday purchases. We want taking out cash to be just as easy. With Contactless Cash customers can quickly and securely take-out money with just a tap of their smartphone – a first for the UK.”

Barclays launches market-first, fully integrated online investing service
28 Nov 2016 09:00


•Customers’ online banking and investment accounts fully integrated for the first time through a single log-in

•The launch draws expertise from across the bank - combining Barclays’ digital expertise and Barclays Stockbrokers’ direct investing heritage

Barclays has today announced the launch of a new online direct investing service that puts people in control of their financial decisions and helps them achieve their goals. The service will provide Barclays customers1 with the first opportunity to view their investments, savings and current accounts in one place through a single log-in – making it easier for them to access more of their finances than ever before.

The new direct investing service has been developed drawing upon extensive customer feedback and expertise from across Barclays. Banks are in a particularly good position to develop solutions which help people understand investing; they have long-term relationships with customers who interact with them on a daily basis and at key stages in their lives, as they make important financial decisions.

A new simple fee structure, free from hidden charges, has been designed to make it easy for customers to understand exactly what they will pay. There is one fee and one transaction charge - common charges levied by other providers such as exit fees, reinvesting dividends and probate valuations are not charged. Independent research2 shows that for many it will be amongst the lowest-cost online investment services available. 

The pricing structure has been developed to encourage customers to take a long-term approach to saving and investing, choosing to buy and hold investments for a number of years. The new service is aimed at those who are comfortable making their own investment decisions, without advice.

Initially, the service will be available to Barclays customers, and existing Barclays Stockbrokers customers will be transferred across to the new service next year. The service will be made more widely available to non-Barclays customers in 2017.

Rupert Dickinson, Managing Director, Head of Direct Investing at Barclays, says: “This launch combines the direct investing services from one of the UK’s leading providers, with banking services from the UK’s second largest bank. We have over 30 years’ experience in direct investing through Barclays Stockbrokers and our new, integrated service draws expertise from across the whole business.”

Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Wealth and Investments UK at Barclays, says: “This is the first step towards a suite of new services which will help address the savings and investing knowledge gap in the UK. The world of investing can often seem complex, and changes to the advice market in the UK have left many people without the help they need to navigate it. It is vital that the banking industry draws upon its experience to help customers by providing accessible, value-for-money services that build confidence.”

The new direct investing service follows the launch of Financial Wings, an online personal finance hub designed to give people the knowledge and confidence to take control of their money. Barclays has a history of delivering easy-to-use digital innovations3 that put customers in control of their finances - ultimately making banking, saving and investing simpler for all.

Barclays announces further Non-Core disposals: Sale of Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong to Bank of Singapore completes
28 Nov 2016 09:15

Barclays PLC today announces that it has completed the sale of its Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) business in Singapore and Hong Kong to Bank of Singapore Limited, the wholly-owned private banking subsidiary of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC).

Barclays WIM in Singapore and Hong Kong, serving high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in those locations, was confirmed as no longer central to Barclays’ strategy in March 2016, and became part of Barclays Non-Core. The sale was announced in April 2016.

Barclays continues to operate Corporate and Investment Banking businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO said: “This is another example of the great progress we have made this year in Barclays Non-Core, as we aim to reduce risk weighted assets to £23 billion in 2017 and reintegrate the remainder of the unit back into the Group.

“I would like to thank those skilled and dedicated colleagues in Hong Kong and Singapore, who have moved to become part of Bank of Singapore, for their hard work for both Barclays and our Wealth clients in the region. I wish them great success in the future. Asia remains a crucial component of the Barclays business plan, and we continue to actively serve our clients across the region from our offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, and Japan.”

The purchase price, representing 1.75% of Barclays WIM Singapore and Hong Kong’s assets under management (AUM) on completion, was US$225 million. The transaction will result in a pro forma decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately £0.8 billion.

The majority of Barclays WIM clients in Singapore and Hong Kong transferred to Bank of Singapore on completion of the transaction. They will benefit from Bank of Singapore’s full product range which includes property and insurance financing, wealth planning, robust platform and advisory services, as well as OCBC Bank’s extensive commercial banking capabilities in the region.

Broker Forecast - Credit Suisse issues a broker note on Barclays PLC

BFN

Credit Suisse today initiates coverage of Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) with a outperform investment rating and price target of 260p.

Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Barclays early Christmas gift to homebuyers and homemovers
30 Nov 2016 09:00

Key Highlights

•2 Year Fixed 75 per cent LTV reduced by 0.50bps to 1.89 per cent on a maximum loan £250,000

•5 Year Fixed 75 per cent LTV reduced by 0.50bps to 2.49 per cent on a maximum loan £250,000

•2 Year Fixed 80 per cent LTV new rate of 1.95 per cent on a maximum loan of £250,000

•5 Year Fixed 80 per cent LTV new rate of 2.69 per cent on a maximum loan of £250,000

•5 Year Fixed 60 per cent LTV reduced by 0.10bps to 1.89 per cent on a maximum loan £1m

•5 Year Fixed 80 per cent LTV reduced by 0.41bps to 1.83 per cent on a maximum loan £1.5m (Rate Switch & Further Advances only)

With Christmas just weeks away, Barclays has today announced some significant mortgage rate cuts along with the launch of some highly competitive new products designed to save customers money on their monthly mortgage payments.

Craig Calder, Director of Barclays Mortgages said: “Christmas is almost upon us and we want to help households and landlords save money during this typically expensive time of the year with the launch of some of Barclays lowest residential remortgage rates.

“Homebuyers seeking a short to medium fixed rate term can choose a 2 or 5 year fixed rate available with either a 75 per cent or 80 per cent LTV with no product fee, £250 cashback and free valuations on properties up to £2m. Landlords will also be able to reduce their monthly outgoings too with reductions to our Buy-To-Let range.

“In addition to these rate reductions, customers will achieve further savings by benefitting from free standard legal work for those choosing to remortgage.”

A summary of the full changes is detailed below.
****See Link Below***

Barclays announces changes to Canary Wharf property
06 Dec 2016 08:29

Barclays has agreed to assign its lease interests in its 10 South Colonnade (10SC) site in London to the Cabinet Office as part of its continued strategy to reduce costs

The 540,000 square foot site is located in Canary Wharf, where Barclays currently occupies two additional buildings – the bank’s global headquarters at 1 Churchill Place and 5 North Colonnade. Barclays occupies two leases on the 10SC site, both of which are due to expire in 2032. It is anticipated that the handover of the building will be completed by the end of 2017. No employees will lose their job as a result of this announcement.

Barclays will exit the 10SC site on a phased basis, with all colleagues moving to Barclays’ existing sites in Canary Wharf. The exit of the site will result in an annual cost saving of £35m once complete.

Barclays Non-Core: Barclays announces agreement to sell French retail, and wealth and investment management business
12 Dec 2016 07:55


Barclays has today announced that it has signed an agreement with AnaCap Financial Partners for the sale of its French Retail Banking business.

The sale includes the network of 74 retail branches, a life insurance business, wealth and investment management, and brokerage operations. This follows the completion of a mandatory consultation period with our employees’ representatives which began in May. All employees of the French retail, and wealth and investment management business will become part of AnaCap’s portfolio of companies following completion.

This agreement does not include Barclays’ corporate and investment banking businesses in France. Barclays will continue to operate corporate and investment banking in France.

On completion, the transaction is expected to result in a reduction in risk weighted assets of approximately £0.5bn and annualised Non-core costs by £130m. Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, and is currently expected to occur by Q2 2017.

Commenting on the agreement, Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive, said: “I am pleased that we have reached today’s agreement with AnaCap Financial Partners for the sale of our French retail and wealth and investment management operations. This is another positive step in reducing our Non-Core unit, creating a more focused, simpler Barclays, and thereby releasing the strong performance of our core business. The agreement to sell our French business completes Barclays’ exit from retail banking in continental Europe.

“The business in France is an attractive one, with a strong customer base and proposition, but it is no longer central to our strategy.  I wish the business well under new ownership and success for our dedicated colleagues who will become part of AnaCap’s portfolio of companies following completion.”

AnaCap is a specialist European financial services private equity firm. Its banking investments comprise Aldermore in the UK, MeDirect in Belgium; Mediterranean Bank in Malta; Equa bank in the Czech Republic; and FM Bank in Poland – recently rebranded as Nest Bank. In addition, the acquisition would mark the firm’s second French investment, following the buyout of AssurOne Group, a leading digital insurance broker, in 2014.

In the coming months, Barclays Retail Banking and Wealth in France will keep its customers updated about the transaction, supported by Barclays Bank PLC which is fully committed to servicing customers as normal until completion of the transaction. Barclays Bank PLC will also work to ensure an orderly transition of services and colleagues to AnaCap.

New mobile business lending service to help unlock £34bn economic opportunity for the UK
05 Jan 2017 00:01

•Opportunity to unlock £34.25bn of growth from UK Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by 2021

•This equates to 194,000 jobs, with opportunities concentrated in retail, professional services and manufacturing

•Successful credit applications by small businesses reach highest proportion since records began, but still 30 per cent of SMEs choose not to apply for a loan

•New service on Barclays Mobile Banking app reduces time to secure a loan to under an hour 

As new research uncovers a £34bn economic opportunity waiting to be unlocked from Britain’s SMEs by 2021, Barclays has launched a mobile business lending service capable of providing instant loans to businesses. 
 
Though almost a third of British SMEs are not planning on applying for a loan despite acknowledging it would boost their business, the research shows that 64% of SMEs’ turnover would increase if they successfully secured the right loan, which could generate nearly 200,000 new jobs for Britain over the next four years.
 
In response, Barclays has created mobile loans for businesses, making SME loans and overdrafts instantly available to its client base through the Barclays Mobile Banking app. Barclays is the first UK bank to offer the service, which radically reduces the time taken to get a loan from a matter of weeks to under an hour.
 
The research found that:

•30% of SMEs have decided not to apply for a loan despite thinking it would boost their business.  The figure rises to 39% for small businesses specifically. 
 
•SMEs who have applied for funding expect the lending process to take at least five weeks, whereas for many the funds are now available on their mobile, pre-assessed, so they can access funding within one hour.  

•Removing the myth that banks don’t want to lend by making loans and overdrafts available instantly on smartphones could deliver an economic boost of 106 new jobs per day (+194,000 jobs by 2021) and £34.25bn of economic growth by 2021.

•In terms of the impact of new loans, manufacturing and professional services sectors should expect to benefit from the biggest economic boost by 2021, achieving an additional £1.18 billion and £1.11 billion each year, respectively.

•Business owners in Yorkshire and Humberside are the most concerned, of any region, about getting their applications right when applying for funding in the future.
 
Ian Rand, CEO of Business Banking at Barclays, said: “We recognise that some businesses are cautious about applying for a loan, whilst many more simply do not have the time.
 
“Our new, pre-assessed lending gives customers the ability to see how much they could borrow on their mobile and we can get that money to them more quickly than ever so they can invest in and focus on running their businesses.”
 
Brexit presents new reasons to lend
 
The research also found that one in five SMEs believe Brexit is impacting their current or future funding requirements. Of those, the most common reasons cited were a need to start exporting to new, non-EU markets, Brexit economic uncertainty and a need to replace current employees who are EU citizens. A further one in ten (12 per cent) SMEs did not know whether they would be impacted by Brexit.
 
However, a quarter (24 per cent) of SMEs believe it will be harder to secure a loan in 2017, with Brexit causing economic/political uncertainty and global economic uncertainty cited as the main reasons.
 
Ian Rand continued: “Since the EU Referendum our appetite for lending has not diminished and we continue to lend to an SME in the UK every four minutes. We want to help SMEs be confident in their future business plans, including looking at new opportunities to export. We are particularly determined to reach out to those businesses who believe lending will be more difficult next year to see where we can help.”
 
Tyrone McAndrew is founder of Eco-Sparks Ltd http://ecosparks.co.uk/ a leading electrical and energy saving specialist contractor serving Hampshire and West Sussex. Last week he applied for an extended overdraft with Barclays:
 
“I needed an overdraft because we are looking to expand our business, buy additional advertising and take on a new person. In a trade like ours you sometimes don’t get paid for one or two months which means cash flow is really important, so having the overdraft facility is really helpful for buying materials.
 
“Having made the application I was sent a secure document in my Barclays Mobile Banking app, and confirmed the new overdraft with my e-signature. I then had access to the funds ten minutes later. I’ve always banked with Barclays and they’ve always been really good.”

I hold these, but there appears to me to be one or more flies in the ointment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/12/23/barclays-chief-preparing-take-stand-against-us-regulators-unduly/

Don't know.

PS

Have a look at AZM and IRV which look promising, IRV fly is :

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5449219

But this maybe already rolled into the price.

I hope so.