Barclays

Barclays PLC

Headquarters at One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, London
Formerly	Barclays Bank PLC (1896–1985)[1]
Type	Public
Traded as	Short description: Stock exchange in the City of London London Stock Exchange Type Stock exchange Location City of London, England, United Kingdom Founded 30 December 1801; 224 years ago (1801-12-30) Owner London Stock Exchange Group Key people Don Robert (Chairman) David Schwimmer (CEO) Currency Sterling (most primary listings; stock prices are quoted in pence rather than pounds) No. of listings 1,918 issuers [2] Market cap USD$3.18 trillion (as of August 2023[update])[3] Indices FTSE 100 Index FTSE 250 Index FTSE 350 Index FTSE SmallCap Index FTSE All-Share Index Website {{{1}}} London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England , United Kingdom. As of August 2023,[update] the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at $3.18 trillion.[4] Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Since 2007, it has been part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG (LSE: [Script error: No such module "Stock tickers/LSE". LSEG])).[5] The LSE is the most-valued stock exchange in Europe as of 2023.[6] According to the 2020 Office for National Statistics report, approximately 12% of UK-resident individuals reported having investments in stocks and shares.[7] According to the 2020 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) report, approximately 15% of UK adults reported having investments in stocks and shares.[8] History Coffee House The Royal Exchange had been founded by English financier Thomas Gresham and Sir Richard Clough on the model of the Antwerp Bourse. It was opened by Elizabeth I of England in 1571.[9][10] During the 17th century, stockbrokers were not allowed in the Royal Exchange due to their rude manners. They had to operate from other establishments in the vicinity, notably Jonathan's Coffee-House. At that coffee house, a broker named John Castaing started listing the prices of a few commodities, such as salt, coal, paper, and exchange rates in 1698. Originally, this was not a daily list and was only published a few days of the week.[11] This list and activity was later moved to Garraway's coffee house. Public auctions during this period were conducted for the duration that a length of tallow candle could burn; these were known as "by inch of candle" auctions. As stocks grew, with new companies joining to raise capital, the royal court also raised some monies. These are the earliest evidence of organised trading in marketable securities in London. Royal Exchange After Gresham's Royal Exchange building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, it was rebuilt and re-established in 1669. This was a move away from coffee houses and a step towards the modern model of stock exchange.[12] The Royal Exchange housed not only brokers but also merchants and merchandise. This was the birth of a regulated stock market, which had teething problems in the shape of unlicensed brokers. In order to regulate these, Parliament passed an Act in 1697 that levied heavy penalties, both financial and physical, on those brokering without a licence. It also set a fixed number of brokers (at 100), but this was later increased as the size of the trade grew. This limit led to several problems, one of which was that traders began leaving the Royal Exchange, either by their own decision or through expulsion, and started dealing in the streets of London. The street in which they were now dealing was known as 'Exchange Alley', or 'Change Alley'; it was suitably placed close to the Bank of England. Parliament tried to regulate this and ban the unofficial traders from the Change streets. Traders became weary of "bubbles" when companies rose quickly and fell, so they persuaded Parliament to pass a clause preventing "unchartered" companies from forming. After the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), trade at Jonathan's Coffee House boomed again. In 1773, Jonathan, together with 150 other brokers, formed a club and opened a new and more formal "Stock Exchange" in Sweeting's Alley. This now had a set entrance fee, by which traders could enter the stock room and trade securities. It was, however, not an exclusive location for trading, as trading also occurred in the Rotunda of the Bank of England. Fraud was also rife during these times and in order to deter such dealings, it was suggested that users of the stock room pay an increased fee. This was not met well and ultimately, the solution came in the form of annual fees and turning the Exchange into a Subscription room. The Subscription room created in 1801 was the first regulated exchange in London, but the transformation was not welcomed by all parties. On the first day of trading, non-members had to be expelled by a constable. In spite of the disorder, a new and bigger building was planned, at Capel Court. William Hammond laid the first foundation stone for the new building on 18 May. It was finished on 30 December when "The Stock Exchange" was incised on the entrance. First Rule Book In the Exchange's first operating years, on several occasions there was no clear set of regulations or fundamental laws for the Capel Court trading. In February 1812, the General Purpose Committee confirmed a set of recommendations, which later became the foundation of the first codified rule book of the Exchange. Even though the document was not a complex one, topics such as settlement and default were, in fact, quite comprehensive. With its new governmental commandments[13] and increasing trading volume, the Exchange was progressively becoming an accepted part of the financial life in the city. In spite of continuous criticism from newspapers and the public, the government used the Exchange's organised market (and would most likely not have managed without it) to raise the enormous amount of money required for the wars against Napoleon. Foreign and regional exchanges After the war and facing a booming world economy, foreign lending to countries such as Brazil, Peru and Chile was a growing market. Notably, the Foreign Market at the Exchange allowed for merchants and traders to participate, and the Royal Exchange hosted all transactions where foreign parties were involved. The constant increase in overseas business eventually meant that dealing in foreign securities had to be allowed within all of the Exchange's premises. Just as London enjoyed growth through international trade, the rest of Great Britain also benefited from the economic boom. Two other cities, in particular, showed great business development: Liverpool and Manchester. Consequently, in 1836 both the Manchester and Liverpool stock exchanges were opened. Some stock prices sometimes rose by 10%, 20% or even 30% in a week. These were times when stockbroking was considered a real business profession, and such attracted many entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, with booms came busts, and in 1835 the "Spanish panic" hit the markets, followed by a second one two years later. The Exchange before the World Wars By June 1853, both participating members and brokers were taking up so much space that the Exchange was now uncomfortably crowded, and continual expansion plans were taking place. Having already been extended west, east, and northwards, it was then decided the Exchange needed an entire new establishment. Thomas Allason was appointed as the main architect, and in March 1854, the new brick building inspired from the Great Exhibition stood ready. This was a huge improvement in both surroundings and space, with twice the floor space available. By the late 1800s, the telephone, ticker tape, and the telegraph had been invented. Those new technologies led to a revolution in the work of the Exchange. First World War As the financial centre of the world, both the City and the Stock Exchange were hit hard by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Due to fears that borrowed money was to be called in and that foreign banks would demand their loans or raise interest, prices surged at first. The decision to close the Exchange for improved breathing space and to extend the August Bank Holiday to prohibit a run on banks, was hurried through by the committee and Parliament, respectively. The Stock Exchange ended up being closed from the end of July until the New Year, causing street business to be introduced again, as well as the "challenge system". The Exchange was set to open again on 4 January 1915 under tedious restrictions: transactions were to be in cash only. Due to the limitations and challenges on trading brought by the war, almost a thousand members quit the Exchange between 1914 and 1918. When peace returned in November 1918, the mood on the trading floor was generally cowed. In 1923, the Exchange received its own coat of arms, with the motto Dictum Meum Pactum, My Word is My Bond. Second World War In 1937, officials at the Exchange used their experiences from World War I to draw up plans for how to handle a new war. The main concerns included air raids and the subsequent bombing of the Exchange's perimeters, and one suggestion was a move to Denham, Buckinghamshire. This however never took place. On the first day of September 1939, the Exchange closed its doors "until further notice" and two days later World War II was declared. Unlike in the prior war, the Exchange opened its doors again six days later, on 7 September. As the war escalated into its second year, the concerns for air raids were greater than ever. Eventually, on the night of 29 December 1940, one of the greatest fires in London's history took place. The Exchange's floor was hit by a clutch of incendiary bombs, which were extinguished quickly. Trading on the floor was now drastically low and most was done over the phone to reduce the possibility of injuries. The Exchange was only closed for one more day during wartime, in 1945 due to damage from a V-2 rocket. Nonetheless, trading continued in the house's basement. Post-war After decades of uncertain if not turbulent times, stock market business boomed in the late 1950s. This spurred officials to find new, more suitable accommodation. The work on the new Stock Exchange Tower began in 1967. The Exchange's new 321 feet (98 metres) high building had 26 storeys with council and administration at the top, and middle floors let out to affiliate companies. Queen Elizabeth II opened the building on 8 November 1972; it was a new City landmark, with its 23,000 sq ft (2,100 m2) trading floor. 1973 marked a year of changes for the Stock Exchange. First, two trading prohibitions were abolished. A report from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission recommended the admittance of both women and foreign-born members on the floor. Second, in March the London Stock Exchange formally merged with the eleven British and Irish regional exchanges, including the Scottish Stock Exchange.[14] This expansion led to the creation of a new position of Chief Executive Officer; after an extensive search this post was given to Robert Fell. There were more governance changes in 1991, when the governing Council of the Exchange was replaced by a Board of Directors drawn from the Exchange's executive, customer, and user base; and the trading name became "The London Stock Exchange". FTSE 100 Index (pronounced "Footsie 100") was launched by a partnership of the Financial Times and the Stock Exchange on 3 January 1984. This turned out to be one of the most useful indices of all, and tracked the movements of the 100 leading companies listed on the Exchange. IRA bombing On 20 July 1990, a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded in the men's toilets behind the visitors' gallery. The area had already been evacuated and nobody was injured.[15] About 30 minutes before the blast at 8:49 a.m., a man who said he was a member of the IRA told Reuters that a bomb had been placed at the exchange and was about to explode. Police officials said that if there had been no warning, the human toll would have been very high.[16] The explosion ripped a hole in the 23-storey building in Threadneedle Street and sent a shower of glass and concrete onto the street.[17] The long-term trend towards electronic trading platforms reduced the Exchange's attraction to visitors, and although the gallery reopened, it was closed permanently in 1992. "Big Bang" The biggest event of the 1980s was the sudden de-regulation of the financial markets in the UK in 1986. The phrase "Big Bang" was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange, as well as the change from an open outcry to electronic, screen-based trading. In 1995, the Exchange launched the Alternative Investment Market, the AIM, to allow growing companies to expand into international markets. Two years later, the Electronic Trading Service (SETS) was launched, bringing greater speed and efficiency to the market. Next, the CREST settlement service was launched. In 2000, the Exchange's shareholders voted to become a public limited company, London Stock Exchange plc. London Stock Exchange also transferred its role as UK Listing Authority to the Financial Services Authority (FSA-UKLA). EDX London, an international equity derivatives business, was created in 2003 in partnership with OM Group. The Exchange also acquired Proquote Limited, a new generation supplier of real-time market data and trading systems. The old Stock Exchange Tower became largely redundant with Big Bang, which deregulated many of the Stock Exchange's activities: computerised systems and dealing rooms replaced face-to-face trading. In 2004, London Stock Exchange moved to a brand-new headquarters in Paternoster Square, close to St Paul's Cathedral. In 2007, the London Stock Exchange merged with Borsa Italiana, creating London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). The Group's headquarters are in Paternoster Square. The Stock Exchange in Paternoster Square was the initial target for the protesters of Occupy London on 15 October 2011. Attempts to occupy the square were thwarted by police.[18] Police sealed off the entrance to the square as it is private property, a High Court injunction having previously been granted against public access to the square.[19] The protesters moved nearby to occupy the space in front of St Paul's Cathedral.[20] The protests were part of the global Occupy movement. On 25 April 2019, the final day of the Extinction Rebellion disruption in London, 13 activists glued themselves together in a chain, blocking the entrances of the Stock Exchange.[21][22] The protesters were all later arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.[22] Extinction Rebellion had said its protesters would target the financial industry "and the corrosive impacts of the ... sector on the world we live in" and activists also blocked entrances to HM Treasury and the Goldman Sachs office on Fleet Street.[23] Activities Primary markets There are two main markets on which companies trade on the LSE: the main market and the alternative investment market. Main Market The main market is home to over 1,300 large companies from 60 countries.[24] The FTSE 100 Index ("footsie") is the main share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the Main Market.[25] Alternative Investment Market The Alternative Investment Market is LSE's international market for smaller companies. A wide range of businesses including early-stage, venture capital-backed, as well as more-established companies join AIM seeking access to growth capital. The AIM is classified as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) under the 2004 MiFID directive, and as such it is a flexible market with a simpler admission process for companies wanting to be publicly listed.[26] Secondary markets The securities available for trading on London Stock Exchange:[27] Common stock Bonds, including retail bonds Derivatives Exchange-traded funds Debt securities Exchange-traded commodities Structured products Covered warrants Global depositary receipts (GDRs) Gilt-edged securities Post trade Through the Exchange's Italian arm, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange Group as a whole offers clearing and settlement services for trades through CC&G (Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia) and Monte Titoli.[28][29] is the Groups Central Counterparty (CCP) and covers multiple asset classes throughout the Italian equity, derivatives and bond markets. CC&G also clears Turquoise derivatives. Monte Titoli (MT) is the pre-settlement, settlement, custody and asset services provider of the Group. MT operates both on-exchange and OTC trades with over 400 banks and brokers. Technology London Stock Exchange's trading platform is its own Linux-based edition named Millennium Exchange.[30] Their previous trading platform TradElect was based on Microsoft's .NET Framework, and was developed by Microsoft and Accenture. For Microsoft, LSE was a good combination of a highly visible exchange and yet a relatively modest IT problem.[31] Despite TradElect only being in use for about two years,[32] after suffering multiple periods of extended downtime and unreliability[33][34] the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to switch to Linux in 2010.[35][36] The main market migration to MillenniumIT technology was successfully completed in February 2011.[37] LSEG provides high-performance technology, including trading, market surveillance and post-trade systems, for over 40 organisations and exchanges, including the Group's own markets. Additional services include network connectivity, hosting and quality assurance testing. MillenniumIT, GATElab and Exactpro are among the Group's technology companies.[38] The LSE facilitates stock listings in a currency other than its "home currency". Most stocks are quoted in GBP but some are quoted in EUR while others are quoted in USD. Mergers and acquisitions On 3 May 2000, it was announced that the LSE would merge with the Deutsche Börse; however this fell through.[39] On 23 June 2007, the London Stock Exchange announced that it had agreed on the terms of a recommended offer to the shareholders of the Borsa Italiana S.p.A. The merger of the two companies created a leading diversified exchange group in Europe. The combined group was named the London Stock Exchange Group, but still remained two separate legal and regulatory entities. One of the long-term strategies of the joint company is to expand Borsa Italiana's efficient clearing services to other European markets. In 2007, after Borsa Italiana announced that it was exercising its call option to acquire full control of MBE Holdings; thus the combined Group would now control Mercato dei Titoli di Stato, or MTS. This merger of Borsa Italiana and MTS with LSE's existing bond-listing business enhanced the range of covered European fixed income markets. London Stock Exchange Group acquired Turquoise (TQ), a Pan-European MTF, in 2009.[40] On 9 October 2020, London Stock Exchange agreed to sell the Borsa Italiana (including Borsa's bond trading platform MTS) to Euronext for €4.3 billion (£3.9 billion) in cash.[41] Euronext completed the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group on 29 April 2021 for a final price of €4,444 million.[42] On 12 Dec 2022, Microsoft bought a nearly 4% stake in LSE (London Stock Exchange Group) as part of a ten-year cloud deal.[43] NASDAQ bids In December 2005, London Stock Exchange rejected a £1.6 billion takeover offer from Macquarie Bank. London Stock Exchange described the offer as "derisory", a sentiment echoed by shareholders in the Exchange. Shortly after Macquarie withdrew its offer, the LSE received an unsolicited approach from NASDAQ valuing the company at £2.4 billion. This too it rejected. NASDAQ later pulled its bid, and less than two weeks later on 11 April 2006, struck a deal with LSE's largest shareholder, Ameriprise Financial's Threadneedle Asset Management unit, to acquire all of that firm's stake, consisting of 35.4 million shares, at £11.75 per share.[44] NASDAQ also purchased 2.69 million additional shares, resulting in a total stake of 15%. While the seller of those shares was undisclosed, it occurred simultaneously with a sale by Scottish Widows of 2.69 million shares.[45] The move was seen as an effort to force LSE to the negotiating table, as well as to limit the Exchange's strategic flexibility.[46] Subsequent purchases increased NASDAQ's stake to 25.1%, holding off competing bids for several months.[47][48][49] United Kingdom financial rules required that NASDAQ wait for a period of time before renewing its effort. On 20 November 2006, within a month or two of the expiration of this period, NASDAQ increased its stake to 28.75% and launched a hostile offer at the minimum permitted bid of £12.43 per share, which was the highest NASDAQ had paid on the open market for its existing shares.[50] The LSE immediately rejected this bid, stating that it "substantially undervalues" the company.[51] NASDAQ revised its offer (characterized as an "unsolicited" bid, rather than a "hostile takeover attempt") on 12 December 2006, indicating that it would be able to complete the deal with 50% (plus one share) of LSE's stock, rather than the 90% it had been seeking. The U.S. exchange did not, however, raise its bid. Many hedge funds had accumulated large positions within the LSE, and many managers of those funds, as well as Furse, indicated that the bid was still not satisfactory. NASDAQ's bid was made more difficult because it had described its offer as "final", which, under British bidding rules, restricted their ability to raise its offer except under certain circumstances. In the end, NASDAQ's offer was roundly rejected by LSE shareholders. Having received acceptances of only 0.41% of rest of the register by the deadline on 10 February 2007, Nasdaq's offer duly lapsed.[52] On 20 August 2007, NASDAQ announced that it was abandoning its plan to take over the LSE and subsequently look for options to divest its 31% (61.3 million shares) shareholding in the company in light of its failed takeover attempt.[53] In September 2007, NASDAQ agreed to sell the majority of its shares to Borse Dubai, leaving the United Arab Emirates-based exchange with 28% of the LSE.[54] Proposed merger with TMX Group On 9 February 2011, London Stock Exchange Group announced it had agreed to merge with the Toronto-based TMX Group, the owners of the Toronto Stock Exchange, creating a combined entity with a market capitalization of listed companies equal to £3.7 trillion.[55] Xavier Rolet, CEO of the LSE Group at the time, would have headed the new enlarged company, while TMX Chief Executive Thomas Kloet would have become the new firm president. London Stock Exchange Group however announced it was terminating the merger with TMX on 29 June 2011 citing that "LSEG and TMX Group believe that the merger is highly unlikely to achieve the required two-thirds majority approval at the TMX Group shareholder meeting".[56] Even though LSEG obtained the necessary support from its shareholders, it failed to obtain the required support from TMX's shareholders. Opening times Normal trading sessions on the main orderbook (SETS) are from 08:00 to 16:30 local time every day of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the exchange in advance. The detailed schedule is as follows: Trade reporting 07:15–07:50 Opening auction 07:50–08:00 Continuous trading 08:00–16:30 Closing auction 16:30–16:35 Order maintenance 16:35–17:00 Trade reporting only 17:00–17:15 [57] Auction Periods (SETQx) SETSqx (Stock Exchange Electronic Trading Service – quotes and crosses) is a trading service for securities less liquid than those traded on SETS. The auction uncrossings are scheduled to take place at 8:00, 9:00, 11:00, 14:00, and 16:35. Observed holidays are New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. If New Year's Day, Christmas Day, and/or Boxing Day falls on a weekend, the following working day is observed as a holiday. Arms Coat of arms of Barclays Adopted 10 September 1923 Crest On a wreath of the colours, In front of a tower proper a lion passant guardant Or. Escutcheon Argent, a cross and in the first quarter a sword erect gules; on a chief of the second a balance Or. Supporters On either side a griffin sable, gorged with a mural crown Or. Motto DICTUM MEUM PACTUM[58] See also List of stock exchanges List of stock exchanges in the Commonwealth of Nations List of stock exchanges in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories Stock Exchange forgery 1872–73 TAURUS (share settlement) References ↑ "Barclays PLC overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". 20 July 1896. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00048839.  ↑ "Market Statistics - Focus (April 2023) The World Federation of Exchanges". World Federation of Exchanges. https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/april-2023/market-statistics.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange (LSE)". https://www.tradinghours.com/markets/lse.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange (LSE)". https://www.tradinghours.com/markets/lse.  ↑ "History of London Stock Exchange Group". http://www.lseg.com/about-london-stock-exchange-group/history.  ↑ Foy, Simon (2023-10-19). "London Stock Exchange overtakes Paris to regain crown as Europe’s biggest market" (in en-GB). The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/10/19/london-stock-exchange-overtakes-paris-europe-market/.  ↑ David Summers (3 March 2022). "Ownership of UK quoted shares: 2020". Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/investmentspensionsandtrusts/bulletins/ownershipofukquotedshares/2020.  ↑ Nisha Arora (11 February 2021). "Financial Lives 2020 survey: the impact of coronavirus". Financial Conduct Authority. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-survey-2020.pdf.  ↑ "Royal Exchange, London". http://www.walklondon.com/london-attractions/royal-exchange.htm.  ↑ "Heritage | The Royal Exchange" (in en-US). http://www.theroyalexchange.co.uk/heritage/.  ↑ "St Paul's Institute: A Valuable Exchange at the Royal Exchange". http://www.stpaulsinstitute.org.uk/dialogue/tanya-barman/opinion/2012/jun/21/a-valuable-exchange-at-the-royal-exchange.  ↑ "Gresham Grasshopper, Royal Exchange, London – Insect Sculptures on Waymarking.com" (in en). http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6R6Y_Gresham_Grasshopper_Royal_Exchange_London.  ↑ Ranald Michie (1999). The London Stock Exchange: A History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191529344. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCaQDwAAQBAJ&q=London%20Stock%20Exchange%20First%20Rule%20Book&pg=PA37. Retrieved 7 June 2019.  ↑ "Calls for Scotland to have its own stock exchange". 4 August 2010. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/calls-for-scotland-to-have-its-own-stock-exchange-1.1045699.  ↑ "On This Day: 20 July 1990: IRA bombs Stock Exchange". BBC News. 20 July 1990. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/20/newsid_2515000/2515667.stm.  ↑ FINEMAN, MARK (21 July 1990). "Bomb Blast Rips London's Stock Exchange; No Injuries Reported : Terrorism: Apparent IRA warning allows time to evacuate the building and surrounding area". Los Angeles Times. https://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-21/news/mn-170_1_london-stock-exchange.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange Is Rocked by a Bombing". The New York Times. 21 July 1990. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/21/world/london-stock-exchange-is-rocked-by-a-bombing.html.  ↑ Davies, Caroline (16 October 2011). "Occupy London protest continues into second day". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/16/occupy-london-protest-second-day.  ↑ "Stock exchange occupation blocked". Media Wales (Wales). 15 October 2011. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2011/10/15/stock-exchange-occupation-blocked-91466-29601928/.  ↑ "Occupy London: Protest continues for second day". BBC News (London). 16 October 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15324901.  ↑ Hope, Kate (25 April 2019). "Extinction Rebellion protesters glue themselves to London Stock Exchange". https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/25/extinction-rebellion-protesters-glue-themselves-to-london-stock-exchange.  ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Extinction Rebellion activists end London protests". 25 April 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48058177.  ↑ "Extinction Rebellion: London Stock Exchange blocked by climate activists". 25 April 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48049040.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange". https://www.londonstockexchange.com/raise-finance/equity/main-market?tab=insights-and-reports&lang=en.  ↑ Lessambo, Felix I. (2021). International Finance: New Players and Global Markets. Springer. ISBN 9783030692322. https://books.google.com/books?id=6eAhEAAAQBAJ&q=The%20main%20market%20is%20home%20to%20over%201%2C300%20large%20companies%20from%2060%20different%20countries.%20London%20Stock%20Exchange&pg=PA86. Retrieved 18 April 2021.  ↑ "AIM". Thomson Reuters. https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/8-107-6392?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true.  ↑ "SECURITY TYPES". London Stock Exchange. https://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/security-types/security-types.htm.  ↑ CC&G - London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 26 August 2015. ↑ Monte Titoli London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 26 August 2015. ↑ Leo King (14 February 2011). "London Stock Exchange finished the switch to Linux". Computerworld UK. http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/open-source/3260727/london-stock-exchange-in-historic-linux-go-live/.  ↑ Ajay Shah (4 July 2009). "Microsoft inside the exchange". Blogspot. http://ajayshahblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/microsoft-inside-exchange.html.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange to replace Tradelect with Millennium". London: ComputerWeekly.com. 4 September 2009. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280090627/London-Stock-Exchange-to-replace-Tradelect-with-Millennium.  ↑ Rowena Mason (10 September 2008). "Seven-hour LSE blackout caused by double glitch". The Daily Telegraph (London). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/4676369/Seven-hour-LSE-blackout-caused-by-double-glitch.html.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange trading hit by technical glitch". BBC News. 26 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8380607.stm.  ↑ David M. Williams (8 October 2009). "London Stock Exchange gets the facts and dumps Windows for Linux". ITWire. http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/the-linux-distillery/28359-london-stock-exchange-gets-the-facts-and-dumps-windows-for-linux.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange Rejects .NET For Open Source". Slashdot. 6 October 2009. http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/1742203/London-Stock-Exchange-Rejects-NET-For-Open-Source.  ↑ Stafford, Philip (14 February 2011). "LSE moves to faster UK trading system". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8a87cf48-383e-11e0-8257-00144feabdc0.html.  ↑ "Investor Relations". http://www.lseg.com/investor-relations.  ↑ "2000: Leading stock exchanges plan merger". 3 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_2481000/2481359.stm.  ↑ "LSE confirms Turquoise acquisition talks". https://www.thetradenews.com/lse-confirms-turquoise-acquisition-talks/.  ↑ "LSE agrees to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext for €4.3 billion". 9 October 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-lse-borsa-italiana-m-a-idUKKBN26U0H7.  ↑ "Euronext today completes the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group and publishes Q1 2021 results". https://www.euronext.com/en/about/media/euronext-press-releases/acquisition-borsa-italiana-group-and-q1-2021-results.  ↑ "Microsoft buys near 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud deal". https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/12/microsoft-buys-near-4percent-stake-in-london-stock-exchange-and-launches-10-year-partnership.html.  ↑ Patrick, M.; Lucchetti, A.; Reilly, D.; Taylor, E. (11 April 2006). "Nasdaq Acquires 15% of LSE". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114477409808123029.  ↑ "Scottish Widows says has sold 2.7 mln LSE shares at 1,175 pence". Forbes. 12 April 2006. https://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/04/12/afx2665242.html.  ↑ Ortega, E. (11 April 2006). "Nasdaq Buys 15 Percent Stake in LSE for $782 Million". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aY106PolhKUQ&refer=us.  ↑ MacDonald, A.; Lucchetti, A. (4 May 2006). "In LSE Stakes, Nasdaq Advances, Euronext Falls". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114670228362743269.  ↑ Lucchetti, A.; MacDonald, A. (11 May 2006). "Nasdaq Lifts Its LSE Stake to 24%". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114729205685149301.  ↑ Goldsmith, B.; Elliott, M. (19 May 2006). "Nasdaq raises LSE stake, making rival bids harder". Reuters. http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=bankingFinancial&storyID=nL1923903. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}] ↑ Lucchetti, A.; MacDonald, A. (20 November 2006). "Nasdaq Makes Bid to Buy Rest of London Stock Exchange". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116400769286328180.  ↑ "LSE rejects £2.7bn Nasdaq offer". BBC News. 20 November 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6164376.stm.  ↑ "Nasdaq fails in takeover bid for London Stock Exchange". International Herald Tribune. 11 February 2007. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-nasdaq.4549290.html.  ↑ "Sale Update". reuters.co.uk. 20 August 2007. http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2007-08-20T091233Z_01_L2025258_RTRIDST_0_LSE-NASDAQ-SALE-UPDATE-1.XML.  ↑ Magnusson, N.; McSheehy, W. (20 September 2007). "Dubai to Buy Stakes in Nasdaq, LSE; Strikes OMX Deal". bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqzGAS7oAezg&refer=home.  ↑ "LSE agrees merger with TMX of Canada". BBC News. 9 February 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12400785.  ↑ "Announcement re LSEG/TMX Group merger – London Stock Exchange". Londonstockexchangegroup.com. http://www.londonstockexchangegroup.com/newsroom/2011pressreleases/lseannouncementrelsegtmxgroupmerger.htm.  ↑ "SETSqx and SEAQ". https://www.lseg.com/areas-expertise/our-markets/london-stock-exchange/equities-markets/trading-services/domestic-trading-services/setsqx.  ↑ "'London Stock Exchange'". https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=London_Stock_Exchange.  Further reading Michie, R. C. (1999). The London Stock Exchange: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829508-1.  External links Documents and clippings about Barclays in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW [ ⚑ ] 51°30′54.25″N 0°5′56.77″W / 51.5150694°N 0.0991028°W / 51.5150694; -0.0991028 0.00 (0 votes) Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London Stock Exchange. Read more NYSE: BCS FTSE 100 Component
ISIN	[https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Toollabs:isin/&language=en&isin=GB0031348658 GB0031348658]
Industry	Financial services
Founded	17 November 1690; 335 years ago (1690-11-17) in the City of London, Kingdom of England
Headquarters	One Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, England, UK
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Nigel Higgins (group chairman) C. S. Venkatakrishnan (group chief executive)
Products	Asset management Banking Commodities Credit cards Equities trading Insurance Investment management Mortgage loans Private equity Wealth management
Revenue	£26.788 billion (2024)[1]
Operating income	£8.108 billion (2024)[1]
Net income	£6.356 billion (2024)[1]
Total assets	£1.518 trillion (2024)[1]
Total equity	£72.481 billion (2024)[1]
Number of employees	100,000 (2025)[2]
Divisions	Barclays UK Barclays International
Website	home.barclays

Barclays PLC (/ˈbɑːrkliz/, occasionally /-leɪz/) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as five divisions, UK Consumer Bank, UK Corporate Bank, Private Bank and Wealth Management (PBWM), Investment Bank and US Consumer Bank.^[3]

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 bulge-bracket 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 bank's name has never included an apostrophe (Barclay's) in its spelling. It was first registered in 1896 as "Barclay and Company, Limited", 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]

The Barclay family were connected with slavery, both as proponents and opponents. David and Alexander Barclay were engaged in the slave trade in 1756.^[14] David Barclay of Youngsbury (1729–1809), on the other hand, was a noted abolitionist, and Verene Shepherd, the Jamaican historian of diaspora studies, singles out the case of how he chose to free his slaves in that colony.^[15]

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 1925, the Colonial Bank, National Bank of South Africa and the Anglo-Egyptian Bank were amalgamated and Barclays operated its overseas operations under the name Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas)—Barclays DCO.^[20] In 1938, Barclays acquired the first Indian exchange bank, the Central Exchange Bank of India, which had opened in London in 1936 with the sponsorship of the Central Bank of India.^[21]

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]

In May 1958, Barclays was the first UK bank to appoint a female bank manager. Hilda Harding managed Barclays' Hanover Square branch in London until her retirement in 1970.^[24]

In 1965, Barclays established a US affiliate, Barclays Bank of California, in San Francisco.^[25][26]

Barclays launched the first credit card in the UK, Barclaycard, in 1966. On 27 June 1967, Barclays deployed the world's first cash machine, in Enfield; Barclays Bank, Enfield.^[27][28] The British actor Reg Varney was the first person to use the machine.^[28]

Barclays Bank D.C.O Act 1957
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision respecting the articles or regulations for the government of Barclays Bank D.C.O. to make provision with respect to its general meetings to increase its authorised capital and for other purposes.
Citation	5 & 6 Eliz. 2. c. vii
Dates
Royal assent	6 June 1957
Other legislation
Repealed by	Barclays Bank Act 1984
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1969, a planned merger with Martins Bank and Lloyds Bank was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, but the acquisition of Martins Bank on its own was later permitted. Also that year, the British Linen Bank subsidiary was sold to the Bank of Scotland in exchange for a 25% stake, a transaction that became effective from 1971. Barclays DCO changed its name to Barclays Bank International in 1971.^[20]

From 1972 until 1980, a minority stake in Banca Barclays Castellini SpA, Milan was owned by the Castellini family. In 1980, Barclays Bank International acquired the remaining stake in Barclays Castellini from the Castellini family.^[29]

Barclays Bank International Act 1974
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to provide for the manner in which Barclays Bank International Limited may alter, revoke or add to its objects; and for other purposes.
Citation	1974 c. ix
Dates
Royal assent	23 May 1974
Other legislation
Repealed by	Barclays Bank Act 1984
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

In August 1975, following the secondary banking crash, Barclays acquired Mercantile Credit Company.^[30]

Barclays Bank International expanded its business in 1980 to include commercial credit and took over American Credit Corporation, renaming it Barclays American Corporation.^[32]

Barclays Bank Act 1984
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to provide for the reorganisation of the Barclays group of companies by the transfer to Barclays Bank International Limited of the undertaking of Barclays Bank PLC; and for other purposes.
Citation	1984 c. x
Dates
Royal assent	26 June 1984
Other legislation
Repeals	Barclays Bank D.C.O. Act 1957 Barclays Bank International Act 1974
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted

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]

In response to the Big Bang on the London Stock Exchange, in 1986 Barclays bought UK stockbroker de Zoete & Bevan and jobbing firm Wedd Durlacher (formerly Wedd Jefferson).^[34] They were merged with Barclays Merchant Bank to form Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW).^[35] Also that year Barclays sold its South African business operating under the Barclays National Bank name after protests against Barclays' involvement in South Africa and its apartheid government.^[36]

Barclays introduced the Connect card in June 1987, the first debit card in the United Kingdom.^[37][38]

In 1988, Barclays sold Barclays Bank of California, which at that time was the 17th-largest bank in California measured by assets, to Wells Fargo for US$125 million in cash.^[39]

Edgar Pearce, the "Mardi Gra Bomber", began a terror campaign against the bank and the supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 1994.^[40]

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] 80% of Barclays's revenue came from UK retail and commercial banking at that time; Diamond's goal was to compete with US bulge-bracket investment banks, and the firm allowed him to do so despite Diamond's division losing hundreds of millions of pounds in the 1998 Russian financial crisis.^[43]

Two years later, in 1998, the BZW business was broken up and the Equity and Corporate Finance divisions were sold to Credit Suisse First Boston: Barclays retained the debt-focused Fixed Income business and Structured Capital Markets which formed the foundation of the rebranded Barclays Capital (BarCap).^[44][45] Barclays Capital had offices in over 29 countries and employed over 20,000 people, with over 7,000 people working in its IT division.^[9]

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.^[46] 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.^[46]

In an unusual move as part of the trend at the time for free ISPs, Barclays launched an Internet service provider in 1999 called Barclays.net. This entity was acquired by British Telecom in 2001.^[47]

In the 1990s, Barclays helped to fund President Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe.^[48] 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.^[49] 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".^[50] Barclays also provided bank accounts to two of Mugabe's associates, who were subject to European Union sanctions on Zimbabwe.^[51] 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.^[52]

In August 2000, Barclays took over the recently de-mutualised Woolwich Building Society,^[53] in a £5.4 billion acquisition. Woolwich thus joined the Barclays group of companies, and the Woolwich name was retained after the acquisition. The company's head office remained in Bexleyheath, south-east London, four miles (6 km) from the original head office in Woolwich.^[54]

Barclays closed 171 branches in the UK in 2001, many of them in rural communities: Barclays called itself "The Big Bank", but this name was quickly given a low profile after a series of embarrassing PR stunts.^[55]

On 31 October 2001, Barclays and CIBC agreed to combine their Caribbean operations to establish a joint venture company known as FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB).^[56]

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 2006, Barclays purchased the HomEq Servicing Corporation for US$469 million in cash from Wachovia Corp.^[61] That year also saw the acquisition of the financial website CompareTheLoan^[62] and Barclays announcing plans to rebrand Woolwich branches as Barclays, migrating Woolwich customers onto Barclays accounts and migrating back-office processes onto Barclays systems—the Woolwich brand was to be used for Barclays mortgages.^[63] Barclays also exited retail-banking operations in the Caribbean-region which extended as far back as 1837 through selling of its joint venture stake in FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB) to CIBC for between $989 million and $1.08 billion.^[64]

In March 2007, Barclays announced plans to purchase 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]

Also in 2007, Barclays agreed to purchase Equifirst Corporation from Regions Financial Corporation for US$225 million.^[70] That year also saw Barclays Personal Investment Management announcing the closure of their operation in Peterborough and its re-siting to Glasgow, laying off nearly 900 members of staff.^[71]

On 30 August 2007, Barclays borrowed £1.6 billion (US$3.2 billion) from the Bank of England sterling standby facility.^[72] 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."^[73]

On 9 November 2007, Barclays shares dropped 9% and were even temporarily suspended for a short period of time, due to rumours of a £4.8 billion (US$10 billion) exposure to bad debts in the US. However, a Barclays spokesman denied the rumours.^[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.^[75] Barclays also bought a controlling stake in the Russian retail bank Expobank for US$745 million.^[76] Later in the year Barclays commenced its Pakistan operations with initial funding of US$100 million.^[77]

During the 2008 financial crisis, Barclays sought to raise capital privately, avoiding direct equity investment from the UK government, which was offered to boost its capital ratio.^[78] Barclays believed that "maintaining its independence from government was in the best interests of its shareholders".^[79]

In July 2008, Barclays raised £4.5 billion through a rights issue to shore up its 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.^[80]

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.^[81] 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).^[82][83]

On 12 June 2009, Barclays sold its Global Investors unit, which included its exchange-traded fund business, iShares, to BlackRock for US$13.5 billion.^[84] Standard Life sold Standard Life Bank to Barclays in October 2009. The sale was completed on 1 January 2010.^[85] Barclays sold its Retail Banking unit in Spain to CaixaBank in 2014. With the sale, Caixabank acquired around 550,000 new retail and private banking clients and 2,400 employees.^[86][87][88]

In March 2009, Barclays was accused of violating international anti-money laundering laws. According to the NGO Global Witness, the Paris branch of Barclays held the account of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang's son, Teodorin Obiang, even after evidence that Obiang had siphoned oil revenues from government funds emerged in 2004. According to Global Witness, Obiang purchased a Ferrari and maintains a mansion in Malibu with the funds from this account.^[89]

In March 2009, Barclays obtained an injunction against The Guardian requiring it to remove from its website confidential leaked documents describing how SCM, Barclays' structured capital markets division, planned to use more than £11 billion of loans to create hundreds of millions of pounds of tax benefits, via "an elaborate circuit of Cayman Islands companies, US partnerships and Luxembourg subsidiaries".^[90] In an editorial on the issue, The Guardian pointed out that, due to the mismatch of resources, tax-collectors (HMRC) now have to rely on websites such as WikiLeaks to obtain such documents.^[91][92] Separately, another Barclays whistleblower revealed several days later that the SCM transactions had produced between £900 million and £1 billion in tax avoidance in one year, adding that "The deals start with tax and then commercial purpose is added to them."^[93]

A 2010 report by The Wall Street Journal described how Credit Suisse, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, and other banks were involved in helping the Alavi Foundation, Bank Melli, the Iranian government, and/or others circumvent US laws banning financial transactions with certain states. They did this by "stripping" information out of wire transfers, thereby concealing the source of funds. Barclays settled with the government for US$298 million.^[94]

In February 2012, Barclays was ordered by the Treasury to pay £500 million in tax which it had tried to avoid. Barclays was accused by HMRC of designing two schemes that were intended to avoid substantial amounts of tax. Tax rules had required the bank to tell the UK authorities about its plans.^[95]

In October 2012 Barclays announced it had agreed to buy the ING Direct UK business of the ING Group.^[96] The transfer of the business to Barclays was approved at the High Court on 20 February 2013 and ING Direct was renamed Barclays Direct and would be integrated into the existing Barclays business within two years.^[97]

On 30 June 2006, The Wall Street Journal ran a front page, column one, article detailing how Barclays Capital was making a giant portion of its income not through legitimate investment banking activities but through a tax dodge, a so-called "double dip", which was essentially paid for by the British and American taxpayer.^[98] It also contributed to Peter Mandelson, UK Business Secretary, labelling Bob Diamond "the unacceptable face of banking".^[99] The "Double Dip" tax scams were simple. Barclays and an American bank would loan, for example, an airline for the purchase of a jumbo jet. A subsidiary without any employees would be set up owned by Barclays and the American bank to handle the transaction, and the subsidiary would pay income tax on the interest income. The scam would come into effect when both Barclays and the American bank would claim the same full tax credit amount with their respective UK and American tax authorities, i.e. essentially Barclays' income from the scam was being paid for by British and American taxpayers without the respective governments and tax authorities knowing what was going on. Barclays was making over £1 billion a year from the practice. This practice ended after The Wall Street Journal published an exposé of the scam in a front page, column one, article on 30 June 2006 by Carrick Mollenkamp, which ensured that Parliament, the Bank of England, and the UK Inland Revenue and the American Internal Revenue Service would see it and become aware of the scam, and the practice was subsequently outlawed, thus eliminating a major source of income for Barclays. It also resulted in Diamond's reputation being tarnished with Parliament and The Bank of England and the beginning of his being branded "the unacceptable face of banking".^[98][100]

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 former headquarters at 745 Seventh Avenue) which was a United States financial conglomerate that had filed for bankruptcy.^[101] Bob Diamond led the effort, securing Barclays a presence in U.S. Equities and Investment Banking.^[102] With Lehman, he and Barclays would achieve their goal of joining the bulge bracket.^[43]

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:

I have to approve this transaction because it is the only available transaction. Lehman Brothers became a victim, in effect the only true icon to fall in a tsunami that has befallen the credit markets. This is the most momentous bankruptcy hearing I've ever sat through. It can never be deemed precedent for future cases. It's hard for me to imagine a similar emergency.^[103]

In the amended agreement, Barclays would absorb US$47.4 billion in securities and assume US$45.5 billion in trading liabilities. Lehman's attorney Harvey R. Miller of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said "the purchase price for the real estate components of the deal would be US$1.29 billion, including US$960 million for Lehman's New York headquarters and US$330 million for two New Jersey data centres. Lehman's original estimate valued its headquarters at US$1.02 billion but an appraisal from CB Richard Ellis this week valued it at US$900 million." Further, Barclays will not acquire Lehman's Eagle Energy unit, but will have entities known as Lehman Brothers Canada Inc, Lehman Brothers Sudamerica, Lehman Brothers Uruguay and its Private Investment Management business for high-net-worth individuals. Finally, Lehman will retain US$20 billion of securities assets in Lehman Brothers Inc that are not being transferred to Barclays.^[104] Barclays had a potential liability of US$2.5 billion to be paid as severance, if it chooses not to retain some Lehman employees beyond the guaranteed 90 days.^[105][106] The job of integration was given to Barclays' Rich Ricci.^[107]

In September 2014, Barclays was ordered to pay $15 million in settlement charges that alleged the bank had failed to maintain an adequate internal compliance system after its acquisition of Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis.^[108]

Barclays launched a further round of capital raising, approved by special resolution on 24 November 2008, as part of its overall plan to achieve higher capital targets set by the UK's Financial Services Authority to ensure it would remain independent.^[109] Barclays raised £7 billion from investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar.^[82][110] Existing Barclays shareholders complained they were not offered full pre-emption rights in this round of capital raising, even threatening to revolt at the extraordinary meeting. Sheikh Mansour and Qatar Holding agreed to open up £500 million of their new holdings of reserve capital instruments for clawback. Existing investors now took this up.^[111]

In January 2009, the press reported that further capital may be required and that while the government might be willing to fund this, it may be unable to do so because the previous capital investment from the Qatari state was subject to a proviso that no third party might put in further money without the Qataris receiving compensation at the value the shares had commanded in October 2008.^[112] In March 2009, it was reported that in 2008, Barclays received billions of dollars from its insurance arrangements with AIG, including US$8.5 billion from funds provided by the United States to bail out AIG.^[113][114]

Barclays' share price fell 54% in June 2009 after the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which had invested up to £4.75 billion in November 2008, sold 1.3 billion Barclays shares.^[115] Qatar Holding sold a 3.5% stake worth £10 billion in October 2009,^[116] and a further sale of warrants worth around £750 million in November 2012, but remained one of the bank's largest shareholders.^[117] In July 2012, Barclays revealed that the FSA was investigating^[117] whether the bank adequately disclosed fees paid to Qatar Investment Authority. In August 2012, the Serious Fraud Office announced an investigation into the Middle East capital raising. The Financial Services Authority announced an expansion of the investigation into the Barclays-Qatar deal in January 2013, focusing on the disclosure surrounding the ownership of the securities in the bank.^[118]

In October 2012, the United States Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission informed Barclays they had commenced an investigation into whether the group's relationships with third parties who assist Barclays to win or retain business are compliant with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.^[119]

In June 2012, as a result of an international investigation, Barclays Bank was fined a total of £290 million (US$450 million) for manipulating the daily settings of London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor). The United States Department of Justice and Barclays officially agreed that "the manipulation of the submissions affected the fixed rates on some occasions".^[120] The bank was found to have made 'inappropriate submissions' of rates which formed part of the Libor and Euribor setting processes, sometimes to make a profit, and other times to make the bank look more secure during the 2008 financial crisis.^[121] This happened between 2005 and 2009, as often as daily.^[122]

The BBC said revelations concerning the fraud were "greeted with almost universal astonishment in the banking industry."^[123] The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA), which levied a fine of £59.5 million ($92.7 million), gave Barclays the biggest fine it had ever imposed in its history.^[122] The FSA's director of enforcement described Barclays' behaviour as "completely unacceptable", adding "Libor is an incredibly important benchmark reference rate, and it is relied on for many, many hundreds of thousands of contracts all over the world."^[121] The bank's chief executive Bob Diamond decided to give up his bonus as a result of the fine.^[124] Liberal Democrat politician Lord Oakeshott criticised Diamond, saying: "If he had any shame he would go. If the Barclays board has any backbone, they'll sack him."^[121] The US Department of Justice has also been involved, with "other financial institutions and individuals" under investigation.^[121]

On 2 July 2012, Marcus Agius resigned from the chairman position following the interest rate rigging scandal.^[125] On 3 July 2012, Bob Diamond resigned with immediate effect, leaving Marcus Agius to fill his post until a replacement is found.^[126] Within the space of a few hours, this was followed by the resignation of the Bank's chief operating officer, Jerry del Missier.^[127] Barclays subsequently announced that Antony Jenkins, its existing chief executive of Global Retail & Business Banking would become group chief executive on 30 August 2012.^[128] On 17 February 2014 the Serious Fraud Office charged three former bank employees with manipulating Libor rates between June 2005 and August 2007.^[129] Four employees were jailed in July 2016 for up to six-and-a-half years, with two others cleared after a retrial.^[130]

In July 2013, US energy regulator the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered Barclays to pay £299 million fine penalty for attempting to manipulate the electricity market in the US. The fine by FERC relates to allegations in December 2008.^[131]

In May 2014, the Financial Conduct Authority fined the bank £26 million over systems and controls failures, and conflict of interest in relation to the bank and its customers in connection to the gold fixing during the period 2004–2013, and for manipulation of the gold price on 28 June 2012.^[132]

In June 2014, the US state of New York filed a lawsuit against the bank alleging it defrauded and deceived investors with inaccurate marketing material about its unregulated trading system known as a dark pool. Specifically, the firm was accused of hiding the fact that Tradebot participated in the dark pool when they were in fact one of the largest players. The state, in its complaint, said it was being assisted by former Barclays executives and it was seeking unspecified damages. The bank's shares dropped 5% on news of the lawsuit, prompting an announcement to the London Stock Exchange by the bank saying it was taking the allegations seriously, and was co-operating with the New York attorney general.^[133]

A month later the bank filed a motion for the suit to be dismissed, saying there had been no fraud, no victims and no harm to anyone. The New York Attorney General's office issued a statement saying the attorney general was confident the motion would fail.^[134] On 31 January 2016, Barclays settled with both the New York Attorney General's office and the SEC, agreeing to pay $70 million split evenly between the SEC and New York state, admitting it violated securities laws and agreeing to install an independent monitor for the dark pool.^[135]

To ward off the effects of Brexit Barclays borrowed £6 billion from the Bank of England between April and June 2017, as part of a post-referendum stimulus package launched in August 2016.^[136] In August 2021 Barclays announced a $400 million capital infusion into its business in India, which was the single largest capital infusion into its Indian business in three decades.^[137]

Barclays agreed to pay $150 million to resolve an investigation by New York's banking regulator into a trading practice that allowed the bank to exploit a milliseconds-long lag between an order and its execution that sometimes hurt its clients.^[138]

Barclays announced in June 2015 that it would sell its US wealth and investment management business to Stifel for an undisclosed fee.^[139] The bank announced in May 2017 that it would sell £1.5 billion worth of shares of its Barclays Africa Group subsidiary as part of its strategy to refocus its business from Africa to the UK and US.^[140] In September 2017, Barclays sold off the last part of its retail banking segment on continental Europe after selling its French retail, wealth and investment management operations to AnaCap.^[141]

In June 2017, following a five-year investigation by the UK's Serious Fraud Office covering Barclays' activities during the 2008 financial crisis, former CEO John Varley and three former colleagues, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath, were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance in connection with capital raising.^[142][143] The executives were cleared in February 2020.^[144]

In February 2018, the Serious Fraud Office charged Barclays with "unlawful financial assistance" related to billions of pounds raised from the Qatar deal.^[145]

On 8 June 2020, Barclays was accused of deceit by a British firm PCP Capital. The company sued the bank in a £1.5 billion lawsuit, claiming that it had "deliberately misled" the market over the terms of its capital raising deal with Qatar. PCP alleged that Qatar Holdings was offered a "completely different" deal than that offered to Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, who according to Amanda Staveley was introduced to Barclays by PCP.^[146] However, during the hearing in the High Court of London, the Barclays lawyer, Jeffery Onions accused Staveley of "significantly exaggerating" her business relationship with the Abu Dhabi sheikh and of creating a "hustle" by getting involved in a crucial capital raising.^[147] Staveley and PCP Capital subsequently reduced the amount of their claim but lost the case in the High Court.^[148]

In February 2020, it was reported that, in a pilot programme at its London headquarters, the company used tracking software to assess how long employees spent at their desks and warn them if they took excessive breaks. Staff who spent too much time away could find this mentioned on their daily report cards. Following criticisms by staff, the bank said it had taken steps to ensure that individual data would no longer be visible to managers, although the company still holds this data."^[149]

The bank faced similar privacy concerns in 2017 when it used OccupEye sensors to track staff through black boxes in their desks.^[150]

In September 2020 Barclays invested in Barrenjoey Capital Partners, an Australian investment bank startup. In May 2022 Barclays increased its stake in the firm from 9.9 percent to 18.2 percent.^[151]

On 31 October 2021, in a surprise move, group CEO Jes Staley agreed to step down amid investigation of his ties to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was replaced as group CEO by the Indian-born American banker C. S. Venkatakrishnan, who became the first person of Indian origin to lead Barclays.^[152][153]

On 1 March 2023 Barclays acquired specialist mortgage lender, Kensington Mortgages. Kensington Mortgages, based in Maidenhead, has approximately 600 employees and originated £1.9bn of mortgages during the year ended 31 March 2022.^[154]

In July 2023, Arron Banks said that in 2018, Barclays closed his bank accounts, including business accounts, due to his political views, including his support for Brexit.^[155][156]

In February 2024, the bank announced the acquisition of Tesco Bank's credit cards, loans and savings operations, with Tesco retaining its insurance, ATMs, travel money and gift card operations.^[157] The transfer was effective from 1 November 2024.^[158]

In June 2024, coordinated protests by pro-Palestinian and climate activist groups vandalised Barclays branches across several UK cities, including London, Manchester, Bristol, Preston, Glasgow, Brighton, Exeter, Sheffield, Northampton, Birmingham, and Solihull. Around 20 branches were targeted, with red paint sprayed on buildings and glass windows smashed.^[159][160]

In July 2024, Barclays announced selling its German consumer finance business to Austrian bank BAWAG Group AG, following the sale of its performing Italian mortgage portfolio in April, as part of the British lender's aims to simplify its business and exit European retail banking outside of the UK.^[161][162]

In early February 2025, Barclays experienced a significant IT glitch that disrupted online and mobile banking services for several days. The issue began on a Friday, coinciding with payday for many UK workers and the self-assessment tax return deadline. Customers reported being unable to access their accounts, view accurate balances, or confirm recent transactions. Barclays assured customers that ATMs and card payments were unaffected, allowing cash withdrawals and purchases.^[163]

In February 2025, The bank set aside £90 million to address potential compensation claims related to a car finance mis-selling scandal. This follows a Court of Appeal ruling that expanded the scope of the issue for lenders.^[164]

In March 2025, Barclays informed the Treasury Select Committee that it faced having to pay up to £12.5 million in compensation due to technical outages over the last two years. This disclosure followed Barclays' outage in late January disrupting over half of all its online payments. The bank expected to pay £5–7.5 million for that incident, plus £5 million for others since 2023.^[165]

In 2017, Barclays faced protests by environmentalists because of its ownership of Third Energy Onshore which planned to extract natural gas using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at Kirby Misperton in Yorkshire. Barclays later sold Third Energy in 2020 to Alpha Energy.^[166][167]

In 2020, the campaign group ShareAction filed a resolution at Barclays AGM^[168] because of its role as Europe's largest funder of fossil fuel companies. Barclays invested $85 billion in fossil fuel extraction and $24 billion in expansion.^[169]

In February 2024, Group CEO, C.S. Venkatakrishnan outlined a plan to improve operational and financial performance and improve total shareholder returns by making Barclays simpler, better and more balanced.^[170][171]

As part of this strategy, Barclays was restructured into five divisions:^[3]

• UK Consumer Bank – Barclays UK, a ring-fenced UK retail bank (Barclays Bank UK PLC), is one of the UK's leading financial brands and includes personal and business banking operations, alongside Barclaycard UK.
• Barclays UK Corporate Bank – has a relationship with over a quarter of UK Corporates, providing the financial and advisory capabilities to power the UK's SME and mid-cap businesses.
• Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management (PBWM) – comprises a UK wealth offering, offering a range of financial services, including Smart Investor, a digital investing service. The Private Bank is centred in the primary global wealth hubs, providing clients with a range of investing, banking and lending products alongside expert advice.
• Barclays Investment Bank – Global Markets and Investment Banking franchises, including international corporate banking, serving multinational corporate and institutional clients globally.
• Barclays US Consumer Bank – offers co-branded, small business and private label credit cards, instalment loans, online savings accounts, and CDs.

Until February 2024, Barclays operated as two divisions, Barclays UK (BUK) and Barclays International (BI), supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services (BX).^[3]

• Barclays UK consists of UK Personal Banking, UK Business Banking and Barclaycard Consumer UK businesses, carried on by a UK ring-fenced bank (Barclays Bank UK PLC) and certain other entities within the Group.
• Barclays International consists of the "Investment Bank" and "Consumer, Cards and Payments" businesses, which are carried on by a nonring-fenced bank (Barclays Bank PLC) and its subsidiaries, as well as by certain other entities within the Group.

Barclays' principal divisions and subsidiaries include:

• Barclaycard – global credit card business
• Barclays Bank plc – UK corporate bank
• Barclays Bank UK plc – UK retail bank
• Barclays Bank Delaware (formerly Barclaycard US, originally Juniper Bank, acquired 2003)
• Barclays Corporate
• Barclays Croatia
• Barclays Egypt
• Barclays Execution Services
• Barclays India
• Barclays Indonesia^[172][173]
• Barclays Investment Bank
• Barclays Private Clients International – subsidiary based in the Isle of Man with branches in the Channel Islands
• Barclays Mauritius
• Barclays National Bank: former vice chairman, Julian Ogilvie Thompson.
• Barclays Pakistan
• Barclays Partner Finance
• Barclays Portugal (162 branches)^[174]
• Barclays Rise (fintech accelerator with locations in New York, London, Manchester, Vilnius(sold), Cape Town, Tel Aviv and Mumbai)^[175]
• Barclays Shared Services Chennai (India)
• Barclays Shared Services Noida (India)
• Barclays Technologies Centre China (closed)
• Barclays Technologies Centre India
• Barclays Technologies Centre Singapore (closed)
• Barclays Technologies Centre Lithuania (closed)
• Firstplus Financial Group plc
• Kensington Mortgages
• Barclays Private Bank

Barclays has over 4,750 branches in about 55 countries and of which about 1,600 are in the United Kingdom.^[176] In the UK, Barclays also offers some personal banking services through branches of the Post Office. Most Barclays branches have 24/7 ATMs. Barclays customers and the customers of many other banks can use Barclays ATMs for free in the UK, although in some other countries fees are charged. Barclays is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, an alliance of international banks which allows each banks' customers to use their ATM or debit card at all other member banks with no ATM access fees when travelling internationally.^[177]

• Chairman: Nigel Higgins (since May 2019)
• Chief Executive: C. S. Venkatakrishnan (since November 2021)

The position of group chairman was formed in 1896, along with the formation of Barclay and Company Limited.^[178]

• Francis Bevan (1896–1916)
• Frederick Goodenough (1917–1934)
• William Tuke (1934–1936)
• Edwin Fisher (1937–1946)
• Sir William Goodenough (1947–1951)
• Anthony Tuke (1951–1962)
• John Thomson (1962–1973)
• Sir Anthony Tuke (1973–1981)
• Sir Timothy Bevan (1981–1987)
• John Quinton (1987–1992)
• Andrew Buxton (1993–1999)
• Sir Peter Middleton (1999–2004)
• Matthew Barrett (2004–2007)
• Marcus Agius (2007–2012)
• Sir David Walker (2012–2015)
• John McFarlane (2015–2019)

The position of group chief executive was formed in 1992; prior to that, the group chairman held executive authority over the group.^[178]

• Andrew Buxton (1992–1993)
• Martin Taylor (1994–1998)
• Sir Peter Middleton (1998–1999)
• Michael O'Neill (1999)
• Matthew Barrett (1999–2004)
• John Varley (2004–2010)
• Bob Diamond (2011–2012)
• Antony Jenkins (2012–2015)
• Jes Staley (2015–2021)

In 2007, Barclays agreed a 20-year naming rights agreement for $400 million for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, home of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. Two years later, due to the slump in the economy the deal was renegotiated to $200 million.^[179][180]

Barclays sponsored the 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships.^[181]

Barclays was the sponsor of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme in London from its inception in 2010 to 2015, as part of a £25 million deal with Transport for London.^[182][183]

Barclays was a longtime title sponsor of the Premier League, in a sponsorship that started with the 2003–04 season and ended with 2015–16 season.^[184]

In January 2025, Apple had talks with Barclays and Synchrony Financial about replacing Goldman Sachs as Apple's credit card partner.^[185]

The College of Arms granted arms to Barclays Bank Limited with the following blazoning:^[186][187]

Coat of arms of Barclays

Adopted 22 October 1937 Escutcheon Argent, an eagle displayed sable charged on the body and on each wing with a ducal coronet of the field.

• List of largest banks
• List of banks in the United Kingdom

• Ackrill, Margaret; Hannah, Leslie (2001). Barclays: The Business of Banking, 1690-1996. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79035-2. OCLC 43562105. 
• Gamble, Audrey Nona (1924). A History of the Bevan Family. London: Headley Brothers. OCLC 18546896. https://archive.org/details/historyofbevanfa00gamb. 
• Raychaudhuri, Tappan; Irfan, Habib; Kumar, Dharma (1983). The Cambridge Economic History of India c. 1751 – c. 1970. 2. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-0-521-22802-2. 

• Augar, Philip (2018). The bank that lived a little: Barclays in the age of the very free market. London, UK: Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-241-33597-0. OCLC 1038449999. 
• Tuke, A. W.; Gillman, R. J. H. (1972). Barclays Bank Limited, 1926–1969: Some Recollections. London: Barclays Bank Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9500442-8-6. 

• Business data for Barclays:
  • Google Finance
  • Yahoo! Finance
  • Bloomberg
  • Reuters
  • SEC filings
  • Nasdaq
• Official website
• Documents and clippings about Barclays in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

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