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Barclays Bank

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Barclays plc (/ˈbɑːrkliz/ or /-leɪz/) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.[3]



barclays bank

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Barclays traces its origins to the goldsmith banking business established in the City of London in 1690.[4] James Barclay became a partner in the business in 1736. In 1896, twelve banks in London and the English provinces, including Goslings Bank, Backhouse's Bank and Gurney, Peckover and Company, united as a joint-stock bank under the name Barclays and Co. Over the following decades, Barclays expanded to become a nationwide bank. In 1967, Barclays deployed the world's first cash dispenser. Barclays has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918, British Linen Bank in 1919, Mercantile Credit in 1975, the Woolwich in 2000 and the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008.[5]


Barclays has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.[6] According to a 2011 paper, Barclays was the most powerful transnational corporation in terms of ownership and thus corporate control over global financial stability and market competition, with Axa and State Street Corporation taking the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.[7][8] Barclays operates in over 40 countries, employs over 80,000 people and is the fifth largest bank in Europe by total assets.[9]


Barclays UK comprises the British retail banking operations, consumer credit card business, wealth management business, and corporate banking for small, medium and large-sized businesses in the UK.[10] Barclays International consists of Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank (formerly known as Barclays Capital) and the Consumer, Cards & Payments business. The investment banking business provides advisory, financing and risk management services to large companies, institutions and government clients. It is a primary dealer in Gilts, U.S. Treasury securities and various European Government bonds.


The name of the bank has never been spelled with an apostrophe (Barclay's), it being first registered in 1896 as 'Barclay and Company, Limited', which was changed to 'Barclays Bank Limited' in 1917, and to 'Barclays Bank PLC' in 1982.[11]


Barclays traces its origins back to 17 November 1690, when John Freame, a Quaker, and Thomas Gould, started trading as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street, London. The name "Barclays" became associated with the business in 1736, when Freame's son-in-law James Barclay became a partner.[12] In 1728, the bank moved to 54 Lombard Street, identified by the 'Sign of the Black Spread Eagle', which in subsequent years would become a core part of the bank's visual identity.[13]






In 1776, the firm was styled "Barclay, Bevan and Bening" and remained so until 1785, when another partner, John Tritton, who had married a Barclay, was admitted, and the business then became "Barclay, Bevan, Bening and Tritton".[16] In 1896, twelve houses in London and the English provinces, notably Goslings and Sharpe, Backhouse's Bank of Darlington[17] and Gurney's Bank of Norwich (the latter two of which also had their roots in Quaker families), united to form Barclays and Co., a joint-stock bank, which at its formation held around one quarter of deposits in English private banks.[18]


Between 1905 and 1916, Barclays extended its branch network by making acquisitions of small English banks. Further expansion followed in 1918 when Barclays amalgamated with the London, Provincial and South Western Bank, and in 1919, when the British Linen Bank was acquired by Barclays, although the British Linen Bank retained a separate board of directors and continued to issue its own banknotes (see Banknotes of the pound sterling).[19]


In 1941, during the German occupation of France, a branch of Barclays in Paris, headed by Marcel Cheradame, worked directly with the invading force.[22] Senior officials at the bank volunteered the names of Jewish employees, as well as ceding an estimated one hundred Jewish bank accounts to the German occupiers.[23] The Paris branch used its funds to increase the operational power of a large quarry that helped produce steel for the Germans. There was no evidence of contact between the head office in London and the branch in Paris during the occupation. Marcel Cheradame was kept as the branch manager until he retired in the sixties.[22]


During 1985 Barclays Bank and Barclays Bank International merged,[33] and as part of the corporate reorganisation the former Barclays Bank plc became a group holding company,[20] renamed Barclays Group Plc,[33] and UK retail banking was integrated under the former BBI, and renamed Barclays Bank PLC from Barclays Bank Limited.[20]


Barclays bought Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors (WFNIA) in 1996 and merged it with BZW Investment Management to form Barclays Global Investors.[41] Bob Diamond took charge of the investment banking businesses that year.[42]


In 1998, Barclays Bank agreed to pay $3.6m to Jews whose assets were seized from French branches of the British-based bank during World War II.[45] Barclays, along with seven French banks, was named in a lawsuit filed in New York on behalf of Jews who were unable to reclaim money they deposited during the Nazi era.[45]


In the 1990s, Barclays helped to fund President Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe.[47] The most controversial of a set of loans provided by Barclays was the 30 million it gave to help sustain land reforms that saw Mugabe seize white-owned farmland and drive more than 100,000 black workers from their homes. Opponents have called the bank's involvement a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses.[48] A Barclays spokesman said the bank has had customers in Zimbabwe for decades and abandoning them now would make matters worse, "We are committed to continuing to provide a service to those customers in what is clearly a difficult operating environment".[49] Barclays also provided two of Mugabe's associates with bank accounts, ignoring European Union sanctions on Zimbabwe.[50] The men are Elliot Manyika and minister of public service Nicholas Goche. Barclays has defended its position by insisting that the EU rules do not apply to its 67%-owned Zimbabwean subsidiary because it was incorporated outside the EU.[51]


In 2003, Barclays bought the American credit card company Juniper Bank from CIBC, re-branding it as "Barclays Bank Delaware".[57] The same year saw the acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, the 11th-largest Spanish bank.[58]


Barclays took over sponsorship of the Premier League from Barclaycard in 2004.[59] In May 2005, Barclays moved its group headquarters from Lombard Street in the City of London to One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf. Also in 2005 Barclays sealed a 2.6bn takeover of Absa Group Limited, South Africa's largest retail bank, acquiring a 54% stake on 27 July 2005.[60]


In March 2007, Barclays announced plans to merge with ABN AMRO, the largest bank in the Netherlands.[65][66] However, on 5 October 2007 Barclays announced that it had abandoned its bid,[67] citing inadequate support by ABN shareholders. Fewer than 80% of shares had been tendered to Barclays' cash-and-shares offer.[68] This left the consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group free to proceed with its counter-bid for ABN AMRO.[69]


On 30 August 2007, Barclays was forced to borrow 1.6 billion (US$3.2 billion) from the Bank of England sterling standby facility. This is made available as a last-resort when banks are unable to settle their debts to other banks at the end of daily trading.[73] Despite rumours about liquidity at Barclays, the loan was necessary due to a technical problem with their computerised settlement network. A Barclays spokesman was quoted as saying "There are no liquidity issues in the U.K markets. Barclays itself is flush with liquidity."[74]


In February 2008, Barclays bought the credit card brand Goldfish for US$70 million gaining 1.7 million customers, and US$3.9 billion in receivables.[76] Barclays also bought a controlling stake in the Russian retail bank Expobank for US$745 million.[77] Later in the year Barclays commenced its Pakistan operations with initial funding of US$100 million.[78]


In July 2008, Barclays attempted to raise 4.5 billion through a non-traditional rights issue to shore up its weakened Tier 1 capital ratio, which involved a rights offer to existing shareholders and the sale of a stake to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Only 19% of shareholders took up their rights leaving investors China Development Bank and Qatar Investment Authority with increased holdings in the bank.[81]


Reuters reported in October 2008 that the British government would inject 40 billion (US$69 billion) into three banks including Barclays, which might seek over 7 billion.[82] Barclays later confirmed that it rejected the Government's offer and would instead raise 6.5 billion of new capital (2 billion by cancellation of dividend and 4.5 billion from private investors).[83][84]


Bob Diamond led the effort to purchase the North American business of Lehman Brothers after its bankruptcy in September 2008, securing Barclays a presence in U.S. Equities and Investment Banking.[88] On 16 September 2008, Barclays announced its agreement to purchase, subject to regulatory approval, the investment-banking and trading divisions of Lehman Brothers (including its New York skyscraper) which was a United States financial conglomerate that had filed for bankruptcy.[89]


On 20 September 2008, a revised version of the deal, a US$1.35 billion (700 million) plan for Barclays to acquire the core business of Lehman Brothers (mainly Lehman's US$960 million Midtown Manhattan office skyscraper, with responsibility for 9,000 former employees), was approved. After a seven-hour hearing, New York bankruptcy court Judge James Peck ruled:

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