Barclays prøver at undgå regeringsindblanding efterhånden rimeligt desperat. På den korte bane har det ikke været godt for aktien, på den lange bane det eneste rigtige.
Barclays in talks to sell iShares arm
By Lina Saigol and Peter Thal Larsen
Published: March 15 2009 17:06 | Last updated: March 16 2009 07:18
Barclays confirmed on Monday it was in talks with a number of interested parties about the sale of part of its fund-management division in an effort to raise between £3bn-£5bn.
The move to try to sell iShares – Barclays’s exchange-traded funds business – could help the bank avoid joining the UK government’s insurance scheme for bank assets.
Potential bidders could include US asset managers which are attracted to the comparatively low transactional costs of exchange-trading funds.
However, this has also increased demand for the product and investors could question the wisdom of Barclays selling a growing business now.
The iShares business accounts for about a quarter of Barclays Global Investors, the bank’s global asset management division that has £1,000bn under management.
Barclays also confirmed on Monday it was in talks with the Treasury and the Fiancial Services Authority about the bank’s participation in the government’s asset protection scheme.
John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, has so far resisted accepting government capital, on the grounds that a state shareholding would restrict room for manoeuvre, and has turned to Middle East investors in a rights issue instead.
Barclays has fewer bad mortgages and commercial loans than rival banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and the Lloyds Banking Group, both of which have chosen to participate in the government’s insurance scheme.
However, with a core tier one capital ratio of 6.7 – a key measure of balance sheet strength – Barclays’ looks less well capitalised than it’s rivals.
After insuring their balance sheets through the government scheme, Lloyds and RBS will soon have core tier one capital of 14.5 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.
Barclays has until March 31 to decide whether to apply formally to join the scheme.
The bank offered the first signal that it may yet participate in February when it submitted three loan portfolios with a combined value of less than £10bn to the Treasury for an initial assessment. These included a portfolio of mortgages, some unsecured consumer loans and a package of commercial loans.
The Treasury, which has retained Citigroup to help in negotiations, has not yet given the Barclays a formal response.
However, officials have made clear that, if Barclays chooses to participate, they would expect to subject the bank’s entire balance sheet to scrutiny.
Barclays would also have to work out how it would pay for the scheme.
If the government offered the same terms to Barclays as it did to RBS and Lloyds, it would have to accept non-voting ’B’ shares that convert to ordinary shares at about 200p. Shares in Barclays closed up 3 per cent at 74.10p last Friday.
Barclays in talks to sell iShares arm
By Lina Saigol and Peter Thal Larsen
Published: March 15 2009 17:06 | Last updated: March 16 2009 07:18
Barclays confirmed on Monday it was in talks with a number of interested parties about the sale of part of its fund-management division in an effort to raise between £3bn-£5bn.
The move to try to sell iShares – Barclays’s exchange-traded funds business – could help the bank avoid joining the UK government’s insurance scheme for bank assets.
Potential bidders could include US asset managers which are attracted to the comparatively low transactional costs of exchange-trading funds.
However, this has also increased demand for the product and investors could question the wisdom of Barclays selling a growing business now.
The iShares business accounts for about a quarter of Barclays Global Investors, the bank’s global asset management division that has £1,000bn under management.
Barclays also confirmed on Monday it was in talks with the Treasury and the Fiancial Services Authority about the bank’s participation in the government’s asset protection scheme.
John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, has so far resisted accepting government capital, on the grounds that a state shareholding would restrict room for manoeuvre, and has turned to Middle East investors in a rights issue instead.
Barclays has fewer bad mortgages and commercial loans than rival banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and the Lloyds Banking Group, both of which have chosen to participate in the government’s insurance scheme.
However, with a core tier one capital ratio of 6.7 – a key measure of balance sheet strength – Barclays’ looks less well capitalised than it’s rivals.
After insuring their balance sheets through the government scheme, Lloyds and RBS will soon have core tier one capital of 14.5 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.
Barclays has until March 31 to decide whether to apply formally to join the scheme.
The bank offered the first signal that it may yet participate in February when it submitted three loan portfolios with a combined value of less than £10bn to the Treasury for an initial assessment. These included a portfolio of mortgages, some unsecured consumer loans and a package of commercial loans.
The Treasury, which has retained Citigroup to help in negotiations, has not yet given the Barclays a formal response.
However, officials have made clear that, if Barclays chooses to participate, they would expect to subject the bank’s entire balance sheet to scrutiny.
Barclays would also have to work out how it would pay for the scheme.
If the government offered the same terms to Barclays as it did to RBS and Lloyds, it would have to accept non-voting ’B’ shares that convert to ordinary shares at about 200p. Shares in Barclays closed up 3 per cent at 74.10p last Friday.
Barclays stiger i dag 18%, hvilket nu har fået min investering til at være katastrofal. Før var den så langt nede at den var uden for kategori. Dejligt nu med en investering der kun er katastrofal.
16/3 2009 19:48 Mr. Buffet 0
4724 Ja det må være dejligt - personligt mangler jeg lidt før jeg kan sige, at jeg er i den kategori. Tror nu at du har gode chance for at opturen fortsætter resten af ugen. Det bliver spændende at følge.
