“BARCLAYS CEO – SIGN UP OR SHIP OUT!”
I was interested
and amused to read of CEO Antony Jenkins edict sent to 140,000 Barclays staff.
The content – sign up to our ethical standards, which are consistent with
our values or quit!” He had to do that for four reasons.
Firstly when
appointed in the wake of Bob Diamond’s departure which was effected with
indecent haste in the summer of last year, he said that the culture was going
to change! – Chapter One completed! Secondly Barclays has just appointed the
most expensive compliance officer on the planet – Hector Sants, reputed to earn
£3 million per annum including bonuses– so Barclays is obliged to come out with
all guns blazing.
Thirdly there is
also method in Antony Jenkins’s madness. Barclays was first to step up to
the plate in accepting liability over LIBOR manipulation, rather than admitting
it. Let’s face it a significant amount of these LIBOR based loans were
calculated on a falling interest rate market which was to the consumers’
benefit. Mr Jenkins also knows that we have only seen the tip of the
iceberg in terms of PPI settlements, injudicious swap sales and LIBOR
fines. God knows what the final tariff will be – anything up to £50
billion. The longer it takes to settle these issues the longer it will
take for the UK economy to recover. Banks already need huge amounts of
extra capital. So taking a further £25 billion out of reserves will have
a negative impact. Consequently Barclays will do all in their power to steal a
commercial march on its peers and understandably so! The “sign up or ship out!”
syndrome is a very important strategic move to regain the public’s respect and
confidence, which is currently rock bottom.
Finally most of
us in the City will be delighted by this initiative! Why? Simply because
it is becoming very clear by the day that investment banking had very little to
do with the demise of the banking sector in the UK in 2008. Most of the
blame is attached to injudicious bank lending and poor credit analysis. PPI
miss-selling came from retail banking and most LIBOR decisions were agreed and
effected by the treasury, retail and consumer banking divisions, admittedly
with some fine tuning from the trading division. No one is saying that the
capital markets in RBS and to a lesser degree Barclays have been exonerated,
but they are NOT ‘the black sheep’ of the banking community that they have been
conveniently made out to be by politicians, press and public to be the
scapegoats!
Who won’t like
this edict – Barclays offices in New York, Singapore, SA, HK etc – nothing to
do with me Guv!
Spread bets are high risk products; you need to deposit only a small
percentage of the value of the bet that rides. However your losses may
substantially exceed that deposit. You may also be required to make additional
deposits at short notice to maintain your bets. Spread bets are not
suitable for all customers. Before betting, you should ensure you fully
understand the risks and seek independent financial advice if necessary.
Cantor Index makes no representation and gives no warranty as to the
accuracy or completeness of the contents of this email. Cantor Index, its
officers, employees, affiliates and shareholders shall not be liable to any
person in any way whatsoever for any losses, costs or claims howsoever arising
from any inaccuracies or omissions in the information contained in this email
or any reliance on that information.
The information contained in this email is not intended to form the
basis of any investment decision and should not be considered a recommendation
by Cantor Index or any other person in relation to any or the companies, stock,
commodities, currencies or other markets referred to in this email. The
information contained in this email has not been verified by Cantor Index and
Cantor Index undertakes no obligation to provide recipients of this email with
any additional information or any update to or correction of the information
contained in this email.
Any views or opinions expressed in this email are the personal views and
opinions of David Buik and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions or
position of Cantor Index.
Any spread prices contained in this
email are prices of Cantor Index, unless otherwise indicated, and are
indicative and
for guidance only. Whilst Cantor Index exercises all due care and skill
in the preparation of its prices, due to the nature and speed of market
movements, the prices indicated may not necessarily be the prices at which
customers of Cantor Index will be able to trade.
This email was sent to you by Cantor Index Limited ("Cantor
Index"), One Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5RD. Cantor Index
is a registered UK Company (company no. 03489923). Cantor Index is authorised
and regulated by the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") and appears
on the FSA register under no. 194414.
This e-mail, including its contents and attachments, if any, are
confidential. If you are not the named recipient please notify the sender and
immediately delete it. You may not disseminate, distribute, or forward this
e-mail or disclose its contents to anybody else. Copyright and any other
intellectual property rights in its contents are the sole property of Cantor
Index.
Although we routinely screen for viruses, addressees should check this
e-mail and any attachments for viruses. We make no representation or warranty
as to the absence of viruses in this e-mail or any attachments.
