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Barclays PLC-News & Media Reports (BARC)     

banjomick - 10 Mar 2016 13:30 - 47 of 111

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

banjomick - 15 Mar 2016 23:24 - 48 of 111

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

Stan - 16 Mar 2016 15:42 - 49 of 111

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

Stan - 17 Mar 2016 09:10 - 50 of 111

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

banjomick - 18 Mar 2016 10:06 - 51 of 111

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

banjomick - 01 Apr 2016 22:36 - 52 of 111

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.

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CC - 05 Apr 2016 12:59 - 53 of 111

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

banjomick - 05 Apr 2016 19:32 - 54 of 111

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

banjomick - 08 Apr 2016 14:25 - 55 of 111

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.

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banjomick - 13 Apr 2016 15:41 - 56 of 111

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

banjomick - 15 Apr 2016 08:39 - 57 of 111

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.

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banjomick - 20 Apr 2016 12:01 - 58 of 111

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.


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banjomick - 25 Apr 2016 10:57 - 59 of 111

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.

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banjomick - 27 Apr 2016 08:26 - 60 of 111

Barclays PLC

Q1 2016 Results Announcement
31 March 2016

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

banjomick - 27 Apr 2016 08:46 - 61 of 111

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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.

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banjomick - 27 Apr 2016 09:03 - 62 of 111

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

banjomick - 27 Apr 2016 09:45 - 63 of 111

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.”

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banjomick - 28 Apr 2016 13:52 - 64 of 111

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

banjomick - 28 Apr 2016 13:59 - 65 of 111

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)


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banjomick - 28 Apr 2016 14:25 - 66 of 111

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.”

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