Office address: 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Website: www.barclays.co.uk
Year established: 1965
Company type: financial services
Employees: 11,500+ (US)
Expertise: mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, debt financing, equity financing, risk management, research, trading, restructuring, leveraged finance, industry coverage across sectors
Parent company: Barclays PLC
Key people: C.S. Venkatakrishnan (group CEO), Anna Cross (group finance director), Craig Bright (group co-COO), Stephen Dainton (president), Anne Marie Darling (group co-COO), Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright (global co-heads of investment banking)
Financing status: corporation
Barclays is a global financial services firm with a strong US presence, especially in investment banking. The company offers mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and trading services. Its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, focuses on advisory, financing, and trading for institutional clients.
Barclays set up its first US affiliate, Barclays Bank of California, in 1965 in San Francisco. The company’s roots, however, reach back to London in 1690, when John Freame and Thomas Gould ran a goldsmith banking business on Lombard Street.
By 1736, James Barclay joined the family, and the name became a fixture in British banking. Over time, small family-run banks struggled to compete, so in 1896, twenty of them joined forces to create Barclay and Company Limited.
Quaker families helped shape the firm, bringing business ties and a reputation for trust. By 1896, the merged bank had 182 branches and 806 staff. Continuing mergers made Barclays the third largest bank in Britain by 1920.
Under Frederick Craufurd Goodenough, the bank acquired Colonial Bank, Anglo-Egyptian Bank, and the National Bank of South Africa. In 1925, these were merged to form Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), which later became Barclays Bank International. At home, Barclays grew by acquiring Martins Bank in 1968 and by hiring more women, who outnumbered men on staff by 1962.
The company continued to evolve, acquiring The Woolwich in 2000 and Juniper Financial in 2004. The company also changed its structure, moving from local offices to regional and then centralized services.
In 1986, it launched its investment banking arm, which became Barclays Capital. This division expanded further in 2008 after acquiring parts of Lehman Brothers. In 2016, the firm focused its strategy on the UK and US, selling several international businesses and reducing its stake in Africa.
By 2018, the firm made its biggest structural changes in decades to meet new UK regulations. The company separated its UK retail and business bank from its international and investment bank.
Barclays Capital offers a broad range of investment banking and market solutions tailored to institutional and corporate clients:
Barclays Capital provides research and digital banking services as part of its global platform. The firm provides tailored solutions to support clients with risk management and financial objectives.
Barclays Capital states that its culture encourages people to be themselves and contribute in meaningful ways. The company also lists these values:
According to Barclays Capital, it aims to build a supportive, inclusive workplace where employees can bring their whole selves to work. Their benefits include:
Barclays Capital also describes valuing unique perspectives and skills, helping teams thrive together. The company shows a sense of belonging and community, encouraging every employee to feel recognized and included.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan is the group CEO of the firm, appointed in 2021. Before this, Venkatakrishnan led global markets and served as co-president of Barclays Bank PLC. Earlier, he worked at JPMorgan Chase in senior roles across asset management, investment banking, and risk.
Here are the key people leading Barclays, each bringing unique experience and focus to their roles:
The board creates Barclays’ strategy and the executive committee carries out those plans.
In 2024, Barclays Capital agreed to pay a $1.25 million fine after Finra found lapses in its fingerprinting and background checks for thousands of employees. The company is now updating its supervisory systems and has already fingerprinted nearly 1,800 staff to meet compliance rules. These changes help Barclays strengthen its internal controls, which support client trust and the firm’s long-term regulatory standing.
The company is also helping lead the surge in global mergers and acquisitions as the AI sector grows. The firm’s bankers are advising on some of the largest deals, such as Alphabet’s $32 billion purchase of Wiz. This activity positions it to support clients in major transactions and strengthens its advisory business for the future.
PHILADELPHIA — Although iPath exchange traded notes have amassed more than $2.6 billion since making their debut more than a year ago, their appeal remains a mystery to some industry experts.
Exchange-traded notes are the newest wrinkle from Barclays, the main sponsor of exchange-traded funds.
An adviser to the Dutch high court said ABN Amro can sell LaSalle without shareholder approval.
Bear Stearns will chip in up to $3.2 billion to help one of its struggling hedge funds
Bear Stearns’ investment bank may lend $1.5 billion to save one of the company's struggling hedge funds, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Barclays Global Investors of San Francisco has launched the iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index ETF on NYSE Arca today.
Seacliff Capital, a San Francisco hedge fund, has joined the ranks of those opposing Barclays’ bid for ABN AMRO, published reports said.
In an effort to catch industry leader Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors has raised the wholesalers’ compensation for effecting the sale of exchange traded funds and lowered the amount it pays for effecting sales of its mutual funds and separately managed accounts.
Mutual fund companies seem to be willing to challenge corporate management on some governance issues, but there still is a way to go before they will be seen as pulling their weight.
PHILADELPHIA — In a further sign of how exchange traded products are chasing more exotic strategies, Barclays Bank PLC of London has unveiled an exchange traded note that provides investors with exposure to a covered-call-writing strategy.
PHILADELPHIA — With help from Barclays Global Investors, a California 401(k) record keeper has created a new platform intended to break the mutual fund stranglehold on the 401(k) market.
Mutual funds continue to support the lion's share management-backed proposals that determine how top executives are paid, according to a new report.
A retirement savings plan that covers more than 3.7 million federal workers may take a page from an increasing number of corporate 401(k) plan sponsors and institute automatic enrollment.
The recent setting aside of the broker-dealer exemption rule could make the brokerage community one of the hottest markets for exchange traded funds — a dramatic reversal from the way ETFs were viewed by brokers just a few years ago.
A new 401(k) plan featuring iShares ETFs from Barclays Global Investors is now available.
