Page 8 - Barclays Bank (B) Teaching Note

Barclays is a British banking company Barclays is based
out of England’s capital, London, and is said to own assets

worth over 1.3 trillion USD in total.

2016 saw the environment for Barclays and all other

banks change as new regulatory capital rules were

introduced by the UK government. In addition, a new 8

percent surcharge on bank profits came into force in

January 2016 which contributed to the major decision by

Barclays to sell down its Africa shareholding in 2016 and

plan for a future exit.

Like other banks Barclays also had to contend with Brexit

uncertainty and the economic implications it is likely to

have capital, regulation and EU operations. Nevertheless,

the bank remains a strong brand anchored in a 300-year

history of trading, geographic diversification, strong

market leadership in core markets and advanced
technological capabilities. However, legacy conduct issues

remain an issue and have some way to go before they
play out.

The divesture of Barclay’s African operations helped

improve its core return and make Barclays a smaller,

better capitalised and less leveraged operation firmly

focused on its core markets of the US and UK.