Barclays has issued a statement noting the "media speculation" about a possible equity capital raising.In that regard, they admit that the lender has been in discussions with the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) regarding its financial and capital management plans. Barclays will update the market alongside its Interim results on Tuesday July 30th.In parallel, the Financial Times reported this morning that the UK will allocate £2m in special "blockbuster" funding to back its investigation into the lender´s emergency fundraising five years ago. Commenting on the possibility of a capital raising broker Nomura indicated on Monday morning that a capital raising would be less of a negative for the bank´s stock than the recent capital raising excercise was for sector peer Deutsche Bank. They also call attention to the fact that Deutsche Bank surprised the market with its timing, which may have played a hand in the initial negative reaction to the announcement.Nonetheless, they add that if Barclays were to address the capital deficit by issuing equity then they would see that as a positive, as it reduces the bear angle on capital. A capital raise would not change returns on target capital as the company is in a capital build mode, though it would dilute interim earnings and there is a risk of future excess capital remaining trapped in the group if regulators move the requirements once again, they go on to explain. At least six brokers have today reaffirmed their recommendations and price targets on the stock.Shares of Barclays are now the worst performer on the Footsie, dropping by 3.65% to the 308.5p mark as of 11:00AM.-- More to follow --AB