The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from WS Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBarclays Share News (BARC)

Share Price Information for Barclays (BARC)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 213.95
Bid: 213.90
Ask: 214.00
Change: 0.70 (0.33%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.047%)
Open: 213.30
High: 215.15
Low: 212.60
Prev. Close: 213.25
BARC Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

RPT-UPDATE 1-UK lawmakers mulling option of RBS breakup-sources

Tue, 04th Jun 2013 11:40

* Commission likely to set out range of options for RBS

* Commission members including Lawson supportive of breakup

* Unlikely to make specific recommendations on RBS's future

* MPs reviewing final draft of report before talks next week

* Final recommendations expected week commencing June 17

By Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Splitting up part-nationalisedRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will be put forward as anoption by lawmakers examining standards in British banking,political and industry sources said on Tuesday.

The bank's division would allow its toxic assets to begrouped into a "bad bank" separate from its profitable business,freeing it to make the increased lending that the economy needs,but has been rejected so far since it could be complicated andexpensive for the government to administer.

The sources said the Parliamentary Commission on BankingStandards is likely to lay out the pros and cons of such a move,but will stop short of making outright recommendations on thebank's future when it publishes its final report later in June.

Britain set up the cross-party commission last year to lookat ethics in banking, after Barclays Plc was fined overthe manipulation of global interest rate benchmarks.

Some members of the commission, notably former Britishfinance minister Nigel Lawson, are known to support hiving offRBS's toxic assets into a bad bank.

Yet the commission took little public evidence on the issue,making other members reluctant to make a firm recommendation onthe matter.

Outgoing Bank of England governor Mervyn King brought theissue to the fore when he recommended a breakup of RBS in thelast of the inquiry's 73 witness sessions.

RBS has already undergone a massive restructuring since thegovernment pumped in 45.8 billion pounds ($70 billion) in 2008to keep it afloat, leaving taxpayers with an 81 percent stake.

COST-BENEFIT

The separate cross-party Treasury Select Committee, on whichfive members of the Banking Standards Commission also sit, hasrecommended the finance ministry should examine a possiblebreakup and produce a cost-benefit analysis.

But the Treasury has yet to respond to that request.

Finance Minister George Osborne has said he would thinktwice about breaking up RBS because of the expense andcomplexity involved.

Britain is looking at options for re-privatising both RBSand Lloyds Banking Group Plc, in which it holds a 39percent stake. Offloading its shares in Lloyds would be morestraightforward, given they are trading above the price at whichthe government considers it would break even.

Shares in RBS are trading well below the government'sbreak-even price and Treasury officials are looking at otheroptions, such as a mass share giveaway to the British public.

Members of the Banking Standards Commission are reviewing afinal draft of their 600-page report and will meet next Mondayand Tuesday to debate final recommendations.

Sources said the draft report has been prepared by officialsworking for the commission's chairman, Conservative lawmakerAndrew Tyrie, and was handed down to the nine other lawmakers onthe commission late last week.

The draft incorporates proposals relating to all issues onwhich the commission has heard evidence and not all of them willmake it into the final report.

Sources have said Tyrie is aiming to publish the report inthe week starting June 17, but that is subject to delay if aconsensus cannot be agreed. Members of the commission have saidthey want unanimous agreement on the final recommendations.

More News
14 Dec 2023 12:00

Fnality completes 'world's first' blockchain payments at Bank of England

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Fnality, a blockchain-based wholesale payments firm, said on Thursday that shareholders Lloyds Banking Group, Santander and UBS had completed the "world's first" live transactions that digitally represent funds held at a central bank.

Read more
14 Dec 2023 10:51

France's Credit Agricole to stop financing new fossil fuel projects

Vows to triple financing of renewable energy projects by 2030

*

Read more
12 Dec 2023 09:10

UK lenders face smaller impact from Basel rules than rivals, BoE says

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Tuesday that implementing the final leg of the global Basel bank rules will increase capital requirements at UK banks by 3%, far less than for their European Union and U.S. peers.

Read more
12 Dec 2023 07:16

BoE says UK lenders to be hit less than EU, U.S. rivals by Basel capital rules

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Tuesday that implementing the final leg of the global Basel bank rules will increase capital requirements at UK banks by 3%, less than for their European Union and U.S. peers.

Read more
7 Dec 2023 16:55

Director dealings: Barclays chair invests, York Holdings settles LSEG call options

(Sharecast News) - Nigel Higgins, the group chairman of Barclays, was on the buying side of the ledger on Thursday.

Read more
7 Dec 2023 15:35

IN BRIEF: Barclays Chair Nigel Higgins buys 200,000 shares

Barclays PLC - London-based consumer, business and investment bank - Chair Nigel Higgins buys 200,000 shares at GBP1.3867 each, worth GBP277,340, in London on Thursday.

Read more
5 Dec 2023 15:26

London close: Stocks mixed as investors mull fresh data

(Sharecast News) - London's financial markets finished with a mixed performance on Tuesday as investors considered key economic data and developments from both sides of the Atlantic.

Read more
5 Dec 2023 09:05

LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE 100 struggles after Moody's warning on China

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 got off to a slow start on Tuesday, with miners falling amid fears for the Chinese economy, while Barclays shares fell after Bloomberg reported Qatar is trimming its stake in the lender.

Read more
5 Dec 2023 08:01

Qatar almost halves stake in Barclays

(Sharecast News) - Banking giant Barclays was in the red early on Tuesday after its largest shareholder made moves to offload roughly £510.0m in shares.

Read more
5 Dec 2023 07:48

LONDON BRIEFING: Ashtead in record half-year; tinyBuild cuts outlook

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open lower on Tuesday, continuing a lacklustre start to the week, after tepid trade in New York overnight.

Read more
30 Nov 2023 09:57

Lloyds to shut 45 branches

(Sharecast News) - Lloyds Banking Group is to shut another 45 branches, it was confirmed on Thursday, as lenders continue to downsize their estates.

Read more
28 Nov 2023 15:40

Barclays axes 900 staff in "disgraceful" pre-Christmas move - UK union

(Alliance News) - Banking firm Barclays PLC is cutting 900 jobs in its UK business as it looks to slash costs in a "disgraceful" pre-Christmas move, trade union Unite has said.

Read more
28 Nov 2023 15:30

London close: Stocks slip after mountain of broker notes

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets finished in the red on Tuesday as investors deliberated over the latest shop price data, as well as a deluge of broker notes.

Read more
28 Nov 2023 08:52

PRESS: Barclays eyes dropping quarter of investment bank clients - FT

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC is exploring the possibility of dropping thousands of its investment bank clients - a quarter of its total - amid a strategic overhaul to bolster its bottom line and cut GBP1 billion of costs, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Read more
28 Nov 2023 07:56

Barclays considers dropping thousands of investment banking clients - report

(Sharecast News) - Barclays is reportedly exploring a plan to drop thousands of clients at its investment bank as part of a strategic overhaul that is meant to boost profits and cut £1bn of costs.

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.