Lehman Preferred Series "J" Preferred (fka LEHJQ)

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Barclays spends $530,000 to lobby US government




British bank Barclays PLC spent $530,000 during the fourth quarter to lobby the U.S. government on issues related to regulations that affect the banking industry.

The $530,000 spent during the final three months of 2009 compares with $290,000 spent to lobby the U.S. government during the final quarter in 2008 and $410,000 spent during the third quarter.

Barclays sold its lucrative global investors unit to BlackRock Inc. during the fourth quarter, which helped earnings.

During the year, Barclays revenue and profit also received a boost from its late 2008 acquisition of Lehman Brothers' U.S. operations. Lehman's collapse was the key driver in the collapse of the credit markets and ensuing market drop.

The additional revenue from the deals helped offset ongoing weakness in its traditional retail business. Like U.S. banks, Barclays also struggled in its retail business during the global economic slowdown. Barclays earned 9.4 billion pounds ($14.29 billion) during 2009, more than double its 2008 profit.

Barclays lobbied both houses of Congress, the Executive office, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the final quarter of 2009. The bank lobbied on issued tied to regulating derivatives, credit-card reform, mortgage lending and tax issues.