Investment Banking and Executive Chairman John McFarlane

Barclays: Yet while new Executive Chairman John McFarlane was quick to say investment banking would be a key part of Barclays’ future, a recent plan to cut more assets is already being implemented, people familiar with the matter said, according to Euro News. Indeed, Barclays told the U.S. Federal Reserve last week that assets at its broker-dealer in the United States had halved since 2010 and would fall by up to another quarter by July 2016 to $185-215 billion. Retail banker Jenkins spent three years cutting trading desks in a bid to boost profitability and curb what politicians dubbed a casino culture after a series of scandals, alienating many Barclays dealmakers and traders. It is important to have an investment bank to complement the wealth and private banking operations, but the returns have to be improved, said Guy de Blonay, fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, which owns Barclays shares. Profit fell by a third last year to 1.4 billion pounds , accounting for a quarter of overall profits and putting it on a par with the bank credit card business. The investment bank has gone from Barclays’ main profit engine to its biggest drag on returns. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.