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Meet the new boss, same as... What’s changed at Barclays?

Outlook

James Moore
Friday 22 January 2016 02:01 GMT
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Barclays CEO Jes Staley’s tactics are holding the lender steady
Barclays CEO Jes Staley’s tactics are holding the lender steady

We are unlikely to see many Barclays bankers smiling like their rivals at Goldman Sachs during the current bonus round. Goldman has kept remuneration spending steady, despite preparing for a whopping fine. Barclays looks set to impose another cut, and that’s for those still in jobs. Around 1,200 of the bank’s staff will be looking for new pastures as it closes nine offices globally.

Its first big move since Jes Staley took over is to rein in its investment bank some more. Far being from a global bank, Barclays is increasingly a transatlantic outfit, which might not bode well for its controlling stake in Absa in Africa.

The move is also part of the strategy put in place by Mr Staley’s predecessor, Antony Jenkins, who was basically fired for being insufficiently dynamic.

So is it Mr Staley’s job to shrink Barclays too, but to look good while doing it? We shall see.

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