Barclays PLC (BCS)

[christh]

RESULTS DUE SOON
16 FEBRUARY
SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED DIVIDEND EXPECTED
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Barclays on track for record profits
NOVEMBER 2009

Bank admits rises in pay for investment bankers at Barclays Capital are 'under consideration'
Barclays is reinstating its dividend for the first time since the banking crisis erupted.

Barclays is considering handing pay rises to its top investment bankers despite its insistence it will consider the view of the "broader community" when setting bonus levels.

Its Barclays Capital investment bank – bolstered by the takeover of the Wall Street operations of Lehman last year – made pre-tax profits of £1.4bn for the first nine months of the year out of total group profits of £4.54bn.

The City believes Barclays is on track to report record profits by year end but even so its shares were the largest fallers in the FTSE 100 - losing 5% to 325.3p - amid concern that BarCap was losing momentum.

The bank, which has not taken taxpayer cash, also resumed its dividend payments which it was forced to stop because of the crisis. The 1p it declared for the third quarter was described as "nominal" by analysts at JP Morgan who noted the bank was reiterating its guidance that dividends would not reach the levels of previous years.

The bank's senior independent director, Sir Richard Broadbent, is holding discussions with shareholders this week to establish how bonuses can be paid and comply with the G20 principles on pay which require deferral and some payment in shares.

Rich Ricci, chief operating officer of the investment bank, admitted that a pay rise was being considered. "We are looking at salaries. We haven't done anything yet." He added that base pay was "under consideration".

HSBC admitted today that its investment bank was performing well and its finance director, Douglas Flint, said HSBC bonuses would be "appropriate", noting the bank was "conscious of the environment in which we operate".

It was a sentiment echoed by Barclays's finance director, Chris Lucas. He refused to reveal how much money was being accrued to pay out bonuses by the end of the year, but he said: "We will be fully compliant with the G20 and in considering bonus amounts we will think of all stakeholders, including employees, shareholders and the broader community – and be taking into account all their views."

Analysts at Credit Suisse noted that costs at BarCap were up about 20% in the third quarter. The performance of Barclays's global retail and commercial banking arm – where profit before tax declined to £2.1bn compared with £3.1bn last time – was better than the City had expected, particularly after the bank announced last week that its head Frits Seegers, hired on a £12m pay deal three years ago, was leaving.

The bank indicated that its bad debt charge was levelling off. While the impairment charges reached £6.2bn for the nine months, up from £3.7bn in the comparable period last year, the bank said it expected the full-year charge to be at the bottom end of the 2009 consensus range of £9bn to £9.6bn.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/10/barclays-profits-dividend-reinstated