Barclays bonuses up as profits fall

BANKING giant Barclays revealed a 10 per cent hike in its bonus pool to £2.4bn for 2013 despite posting a 32 per cent drop in underlying annual profits.
Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.
Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.

The group said its investment banking staff would share £1.6bn in bonuses, up 13 per cent on 2012, giving an average payout of £60,100 per employee in the division.

Chief executive Antony Jenkins said the bank is “in a better position than we have been for many years”.

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But yesterday it took the unusual step of announcing its full-year profits a day early, confirming that underlying profits fell to £5.2bn in 2013, which was below consensus forecast in the City for around £5.4bn.

Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.
Barclays has announced that its total bonus pool for 2013 rose to £2.38 billion from £2.17 billion for 2012, including a £1.57 billion payout for its investment banking staff.

The bumper staff payout comes in spite of another tough year for the group, in which it added £2bn to its bill for customer mis-selling scandals in 2013 and tapped shareholders for £5.8bn in a rights issue in the autumn.

Mr Jenkins defended the increase in the staff incentives, saying the group believes in “paying for performance and paying competitively”.

The Barclays boss has already waived his entitlement to a bonus for 2013 worth up to £2.75m, citing “very significant costs” suffered last year over a series of scandals and its cash-call on shareholders.

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Its increase in bonuses for the group’s 26,200 investment banking employees saw its ratio of compensation to income rise to 44 per cent from 40 per cent in 2012, although more than two-thirds of handouts are deferred.

But pre-tax profits in the division slumped 37 per cent to £2.5bn over the year.

Barclays said its overall underlying profit for the final three months of 2013 was significantly lower, plunging by £1.2bn quarter on quarter to £191m, after being dragged lower by factors including £331m of previously announced litigation and regulation penalties.

It was also knocked by costs relating to its so-called Project Transform overhaul.

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Mr Jenkins launched the review of culture and practices in the wake of the bank’s £290m Libor-rigging fine, which led to the resignation of former boss Bob Diamond.

Overall bottom line profits rose to £2.9bn in 2013 from £797m in 2012.

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