Barclays Share Discussion Threads

[johnwise] 06/10/2017 07:10

NatWest and Barclays are the latest providers to increase mortgages rates – signalling that lenders are preparing for a base rate hike from the Bank of England.

[bernie37] 05/10/2017 17:39

NH: What do you make of the current market levels we've been seeing? Because some voices say there are many risks out on the horizon, yet we continue to get new highs - especially in the U.S.

John McFarlane: The world economy is nudging slightly below its long run average at the moment and the general consensus is that we'll continue a soft rally and global economy. But there's two parts to that. One is the traditional strong, developed markets are normally a bigger chunk of economic growth than they are today. Because you get you've got very soft numbers, you know. At best, you get a two in front of the economic growth numbers. And although India or China are still very strong, the emerging markets have yet to recover. And so I think there's quite a lot of economic uncertainty in world economic growth at the moment.

NH: And central banks of course have played a big role in trying to offset some of this uncertainty. A bit of a surprise coming from the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, sounding more hawkish than many expected. Would a rate hike sooner than expected be welcome from your industry?

John McFarlane: Well, it would be welcome for our industry. I mean, banks don't like rising interest rates but they do like higher interest rates and so that's the issue. And the thing you have to remember is, we're still in the developed economies (not the U.S. so much) but Europe and the U.K. (are) still recovering from the global economic crisis. And in that respect, with interest rates being held artificially low and at some point in time, they need to rise. I mean U.S. interest rates are about a percent above U.K. rates, which is incredibly unusual. So we knew at some point in time, subject to economics (and) the growth rates coming, that rates have to rise. And the thing about central banks, is that they need to do that without the massive dislocation to the bond markets. And therefore, they need to ease into it earlier than you otherwise would so that you don't get that dislocation. And of course, that's what you're seeing here: is an expectation in the Bank of England that rates have to rise. Inflation is signaling that the growth is softer and you're still getting this debate inside the policy committee that says, "well, not now."

NH: And part of debate surrounds the Brexit risks, of course as well. Still a lot of uncertainty around this one. How do you rate the UK government's response so far, on Brexit?

John McFarlane: Well, politically they're not in full control of it. They have their own role here but the EU has decided that the process is "Let's agree the exit first and the terms of exit. And then we'll talk about the future relationship." Now from a business standpoint, that's back to front, you know. But if we're going to talk about investment which is how we exit the EU, you want to know what the benefits are at the same time, and that's the deal. And so this is causing the maximum amount of uncertainty, particularly for London as a financial center. Because we don't know what that relationship is going to be. We've essentially asked for two things. We've asked for sensible market access, recognising some things will have to move.

But nevertheless, activities are in London or the rest of the UK because it has had a comparative advantage over decades and centuries. And therefore, there's a rational economic argument that certain things should remain there, particularly wholesale markets, wholesale settlement activity, wholesale insurance, wholesale banking. You know, where the big dealing rooms are. Because those things are very difficult to replicate and can't be replicated over very short periods of time.

Now the issue for us, is that some of that stuff, we would rather it didn't move and we'd need a confirmation that it will move but we won't know until the second period of the negotiation. And therefore, we are all planning for the worst but hoping for better. We've asked for an implementation period because this is a very difficult area and two years is not all that long.

NH: Has the government reached out to you to secure your opinion?

John McFarlane: Of course. I mean, I'm also the head of the financial sector bodies in the U.K. And we've given good advice to government on what is sensible to move, what's sensible to retain and what of the foreign activities in London is sensible to retain and how that should be gone about. Now, the issue is is that they agree with that but they just got together negotiating.

NH: How many jobs ultimately are we talking about? Barclays having to move out of London?

John McFarlane: Oh, I'd say it's a hundred. It's not very many but we don't know. In that, the EU is about 10 percent of our total bank and therefore, if we were moving all of it, then we would have to move the balance sheet. However, if wholesale activities can remain in London, we don't have to move the balance sheet and therefore, we don't have to move too many people. And so the truth of the matter is, we don't know. But it's not a big number.

NH: Talking a bit more about Barclays specifically… CEO Jes Staley sounded very confident in the latest earnings report that the restructuring was done, the winding down of the non-core unit was complete and that now you can focus on returns. Do you have full confidence in Jes Staley to get this job done?

John McFarlane: The restructuring of Barclays is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Remember, with our B.S. in 2007 and 2008 Barclays was the largest bank in the world by assets. And of course, that was way overdone. You know, we ballooned the balance sheet at that point then and we've had to restructure that. That restructuring has been very difficult. At this point, we've half the size of the organization. And that's largely been done in the period that Jes has been the CEO. And that's then involved getting rid of a very large non-core division, which cost us several billion pounds to move out. At the same time, we've still got some legacy items from the past that need to roll out. Within the face of structural reform, we've got to create a bank in the UK that doesn't exist and we've had to create one holding company in the US. We've got Brexit, we have to move activities from London [inaudible]. This is a very big job and he's tackled that incredibly well. Of course, the getting the runs on the board is a little bit more tricky and therefore, that's a medium term thing and we're focused on 19 and 18. We're not really focused this year at this point in time and I'm pretty confident we'll get there.

NH: So Jes Daley, does he have your full confidence to make Barclays the bank you want it to be?

John McFarlane: He does. He has this issue regarding whistleblowing that is under investigation. We need to get to the end of that but he's done a fantastic job stabilizing the organization, bringing it to core and giving the underpinning for the future. And that's exactly what a good CEO should do.

NH: On the whistle blowing situation, I know when Jes Staley was made CEO, you yourself talked about his enormous integrity. So when this situation took place, did you feel personally let down?

John McFarlane: He's made a mistake here. And the question is how serious is that mistake. You know, we do expect leaders not to make these kind of mistakes and of course, we were very surprised that it happened. But we had to we hit it hard. He's been subject to criticism by the board and we've dealt with that. And of course, his remunerations is going to suffer as a consequence. And so we've dealt with it pretty firmly but there's some uncertainty about the investigation. We need to get that over with. And so, yes we were surprised but that hasn't stopped him doing what he needs to do. He's very resilient and he's come back strongly.
NH: John, thank you very much for your time. We really appreciate you joining CNBC live here from the Singapore Summit.

[johnwise] 05/10/2017 17:29

Electric cars, fuel efficiency to wipe out oil demand equal to Iran's output by 2025, Barclays says

[bernie37] 05/10/2017 17:26

We were surprised by whistleblowing probe: Barclays chairman We were surprised by whistleblowing probe: Barclays chairman
3:26 AM ET Fri, 15 Sept 2017 | 00:53
Barclays' chief executive, under investigation for a 2016 incident, has done "a fantastic job" in restructuring the bank amid challenges such as Brexit, according to the British bank's chairman.

The bank's CEO, Jes Staley, is being investigated by regulators regarding his individual conduct after he attempted to identify a whistle blower. Staley admitted to making a mistake but was still re-appointed to head Barclays.

He oversaw a large part of the bank's restructuring process, including selling non-core divisions such as its African business while focusing on retail banking in its home country and corporate and investment units overseas.

"The restructuring of Barclays is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Remember, with RBS in 2007 and 2008, Barclays was the largest bank in the world by assets and of course that was way overdone. We ballooned the balance sheet and we have to restructure that," Barclays Chairman John McFarlane told CNBC at the sidelines of the Singapore Summit.

Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays, is being investigated for his conduct in a whistle blowing incident in 2016.
Justin Solomon | CNBC
Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays, is being investigated for his conduct in a whistle blowing incident in 2016.
"That restructuring has been very difficult. At this point, we've halved the size of the organization and that's largely been done in the period that Jes has been the CEO," he said, adding that Staley has done "a fantastic job" and has his confidence to lead the bank.

The chairman had said that he was disappointed with Staley's conduct in the 2016 incident, but acknowledged that the CEO has been very resilient especially in the face of challenges such as a global structural reform in the banking sector and the U.K.'s impending exit from the European Union.

The bank has indicated that it will move some of its operations to Ireland post-Brexit, but it still hopes to retain most of its activities in London. McFarlane said around 100 jobs could be moved out of the British capital, but "the truth of the matter is we don't know."

"The EU has decided that the process is 'let's agree on the exit first and the terms of exit, and then we'll talk about the future relationship.' From a business standpoint, that's back to front. If we're going to talk about an investment in the EU, you want to know what the benefits are at the same time," he said.

"And so this is causing the maximum amount of uncertainty, particularly for London as a financial center because we don't know what that relationship is going to be."

[johnwise] 05/10/2017 16:47

Ramos leads Barclays Africa into a new era

[portside1] 05/10/2017 15:15

the news of two more duds is going down well more falls ahead

[portside1] 05/10/2017 15:13

new chairman to be announced soon mc is going did nothing but did milk the bank for is own ends

[smurfy2001] 05/10/2017 14:57

BARC has always been undervalued but also regarded a bank that doesn't want to pay the shareholders a good dividend. Until that changes this stock isn't really worth your time, much better stocks around with volatility.

[reimomo] 05/10/2017 14:48

So today's the day...

Barc cap = £32.3bn

RBS cap = £32.7bn

Amazing.

[bernie37] 05/10/2017 14:32

Barclays appoints head of investment banking in Europe
Appointment is part of ongoing changes under new investment bank head Tim Throsby


Photography: Darren Lazarus
By Tim Burke and Fareed Sahloul
October 3, 2017 Updated: 10:14 a.m. GMT
Barclays has named a dedicated head of its banking business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific as part of ongoing changes under new investment bank head Tim Throsby.

Reid Marsh, most recently the bank’s co-head of Asia Pacific, now oversees all of Barclays’ investment banking activities outside of the Americas, a bank spokesman confirmed.

He will split his time between London and Hong Kong and report to Joe McGrath, global head of banking.

Marsh joined the bank from Citigroup in 2010 as executive chairman for the global industrials group. Four years later he moved to Asia from the UK as head of banking for Asia Pacific, before becoming Asia Pacific co-head with Jaideep Khanna.

Khanna now becomes sole head of Asia Pacific.

Barclays ranked seventh for revenues earned from M&A advice, capital markets underwriting and lending in Emea at the nine-month stage of 2017, according to Dealogic, down from fourth a year ago.

The group made a big push into European investment banking following its crisis-era acquisition of parts of Lehman Brothers' business. At the time, Barclays, already an established presence in Europe's debt markets, brought in bankers Sam Dean and Crispin Osborne to help expand into the equity markets and M&A advice.

The pair helped Barclays grow its share of the investment banking revenue pool in the region to more than 5%. Its current share is around 4.5%, according to Dealogic. They relinquished their roles as co-heads of banking in Emea in a reshuffle of senior leadership in late 2016.

Marsh becomes Barclays' first dedicated head of banking in Europe and the Middle East since Dean and Osborne stepped down. In the interim, the regional responsibilities belonged to Joe McGrath, global head of banking.

Both Dean and Osborne have now left the bank, which has been putting new leadership in place under Throsby, the former JPMorgan banker who arrived to take charge of Barclays' entire investment bank — including its trading operations — globally in January.

To contact the authors of this story with feedback or news, email Tim Burke and Fareed Sahloul

[bernie37] 05/10/2017 14:23

A top trader from Brevan Howard’s New York office has left the renowned hedge fund to head up Barclays' macro trading team.

The exit comes after City A.M. revealed last week that Brevan Howard’s chief operating officer had resigned and the fund was considering headcount reductions in New York and Israel.

Michael Lublinsky will start in November as one of four new head of business positions intended to free up investment bank chief Tim Throsby, a spokesperson for Barclays confirmed.

Lublinsky ran Brevan Howard’s fixed income trading desk in the US. He joined the fund in August 2015, having previously been Royal Bank of Scotland’s global trading head.


Brevan Howard declined to comment.

Read more: Brevan Howard top exec steps down as star fund looks to cut costs

The announcement means three of the four key roles created by Throsby have now been filled. Adeel Khan has moved internally to take on the position of global head of credit and Stephen Dainton was wooed from Credit Suisse last month to be global equities chief.

Barclays is still on the hunt for a global sales head.

Lublinsky will be responsible for Barclays' rates and currencies desks, which have struggled in 2017. Second quarter macro revenue fell by 25 per cent and Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has promised to “get that corrected”.

[bernie37] 05/10/2017 14:12

Barclays PLC
Barclays PLC
I feel the banking sector could be undervalued at the moment, and that’s why I’m taking a closer look at Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) (BARC.L), Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) (STAN.L), HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) (HSBA.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (LON:RBS) (RBS.L).



For me, HSBC has a bright long term future. I think it is gradually repositioning itself for a better growth outlook, with cost cuts in particular making it more efficient and healthier from a financial perspective. While there is more work to do, it could also benefit from a tailwind in the fast-growing Asian economy over the medium term. With a P/E of 14, I think the HSBC share price could rise.

Barclays is another bank that’s on my watchlist. It has now completed its restructuring, and I think this could lead to improved performance for the bank. In recent years I believe it has strengthened its financial position and it could now pay out a higher portion of profit as a dividend. With a P/E of 15 and a prospective dividend yield of over 3%, I’m upbeat about the prospects for the Barclays share price.

RBS still has some way to go until it is ‘recoveredR17; after the financial crisis to my mind. It is still part-owned by the government, and this suggests to investors that it still has turnaround work to do in my view. Although it is making progress, legacy issues remain a risk in my opinion. Still, RBS has a favourable risk to reward ratio as far as I can tell. A prospective P/E of 10 is one of the lowest in the FTSE 100. This makes me more optimistic about the outlook for RBS.

Like HSBC, Standard Chartered could have growth potential due to its exposure to Asia. Wealth levels continue to move higher and demand for financial products could increase in future years. Standard Chartered is well-placed to capitalise on this opportunity in my opinion. Although it experienced a difficult few years, it is on target to grow pre-tax profit to £3 billion in 2018 from £400 million last year. I think this could improve investor sentiment.

[portside1] 05/10/2017 13:45

MAY interfering in private companies is bad news she is going against all beliefs in
business . if she is so concerned about rip offs then the biggest swindal is phone companies they are a rip off big time

[clond] 05/10/2017 10:09

Will be at leat a year before we see good money made here. Can see this falling another 10% behind the other uk banks as they rise into 6 month dividends.

[portside1] 05/10/2017 10:06

THE SILENCE FROM OUR SO CALLED LEADERS IS TRUELY AMAZING

rbs now 85p higher and m/c over takes barcs the bank that is bankrupt being better run than barcs run by liars and failures just milking the bank crooks comes to mind

[spoole5] 05/10/2017 09:39

Looks like it will test 180 in the coming days. Run by idiots. 250 when Jenkins left.

[portside1] 05/10/2017 09:07

when are barcs going to announce that mc is leaving ,
3 years ago he made a statement all drivel and lies