It is widely expected that Barclays will announce that it is shutting its structured tax avoidance activities department this morning. In that case it is worth a reminder of just how costly this activity has been to the world. As the FT reports this morning: Bank of New York Mellon said it expects to take an $850m
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As the Guardian notes today: In 13 Red Nose Days since that first brave venture in 1988, we have raised £660m. And as the Guardian also notes today: The cost to UK banks of providing redress for mis-selling mounted on Tuesday, when Barclays set aside another £1bn to compensate its customers. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not
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I’m not sure why anyone is really surprised by this report in the FT, because it simply backs up exactly what I would have expected to be happening at the time: A senior executive has left Barclays’ wealth management business after allegations he suppressed a critical report on the unit’s culture in the US, in yet another reputational blow for
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As I’ve already noted this morning, Barclays has decided to review its sales of tax products as “some of them may no longer be appropriate”. There are lessons to be learned from this. The first is that, as Barclays has now learned to its cost, tax avoidance does not pay. The second is that companies are not required to minimise
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Barclays has decided to review its sales of tax products as “some of them may no longer be appropriate”. As I’ve already noted, there are lessons to be learned from this. The first was that, as Barclays has now learned to its cost, tax avoidance does not pay. The second could be described as the inverse of
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Barclays has decided to review its sales of tax products as “some of them may no longer be appropriate”. There are lessons to be learned from this. The first is that, as Barclays has now learned to its cost, tax avoidance does not pay. One wonders why they paid so much to so many for
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The FT’s reporting this morning that: Barclays will take the axe to its controversial tax structuring unit, as the UK lender seeks to clean up its image in the wake of a succession of scandals. The business, which at its peak may have generated as much as three-quarters of profits at Barclays’ investment banking operation, will
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The FT reports this morning that Barclays is seeking to increase its stake in and control over its long controversial South African operations. Those, like me, who learned their politics in the student world of the 1970s well remember all that Barclays stood for then. South Africa’s social tensions are rising. Corruption in the country appears
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Barclays announced its results yesterday. They were poor, but that's not the issue of concern here. After announing that another of its officers (the finance director) is now under investigation, its resigned and then reinstated Chair Marcus Agius said: “The recent events have been challenging for Barclays and all those who work for the group.
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