Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards A joint committee of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

Banking Standards Written Evidence Only those submissions written specifically for the Commission for the inquiry into banking standards and accepted as written evidence are included.

List of written evidence Page

Affinity Association of British Insurers Barclays Board Intelligence British Bankers’ Association Building Societies Association Campaign for Community Banking Services Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change Chartered Banker Institute Chartered Financial Analyst Society Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Chartered Insurance Institute Christian Council for Monetary Justice Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council Church of Scotland Citizens’ Advice City of London Corporation Duijsters, Jan Mr FairPensions Financial Services Authority Financial Services Consumer Panel Financial Services Practitioner Panel Global Witness Hermes HSBC Holdings plc ifs School of Finance Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales International Capital Market Association Investment Management Association Ipsos MORI Lloyds Banking Group London First National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Office of Fair Trading Pringle, Robert Mr Pro Housing Alliance Prof. Stella Fearnley and Prof. Shyam Sunder Public Concern at Work Santander UK plc TheCityUK TUC

320 326 1 16 22 337 40 42 347 73 83 93 99 114 357 116 366 121 125 129 391 136 145 155 161 166 179 183 191 192 207 404 215 456 418 428 439 380 446 460 220 470

Unite the Union Virgin Money VocaLink Which? Worshipful Company of International Bankers

228 235 487 277 314

Submission from Barclays (S001) 1. Introduction 1.1.

The industry has much work to do to restore trust with customers, shareholders, and the general public. Banks have undergone significant reform since the beginning of the credit crisis, but in certain areas, further change is required.

1.2.

Barclays welcomes the establishment of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and looks forward to engaging with it constructively.

1.3.

We note that the Commission intends to report on: a) professional standards and culture in the UK banking sector; and, b) lessons to be learned across a range of areas.

1.4.

With this in mind, we have constructed this response to address the key issues set out in the initial questions as part of the Commission’s Call for Evidence. We provide information on the origins of the current crisis, followed by consideration of what has changed, and what still needs to change.

1.5.

The document is therefore structured as follows: •

Section 2 largely follows the opening questions in the Call for Evidence and aims to address: why professional standards are perceived to have been absent or defective; the experience and impact on the customer; and the causes of the breakdown in trust.

•

Section 3 focuses on changes already made, underway or proposed, addressing question 6 in the Call for Evidence.

•

Section 4 sets out proposals for further reform as requested in question 5 in the Call for Evidence. We believe that the Commission can make a significant contribution by proposing reforms on this basis.

2. The UK banking industry Historical context: crisis and change 2.1.

To address the Commission’s first question on the extent to which standards in UK banking are either absent or defective, it is important to consider the historical circumstances which inform the current position.

2.2.

The economy today is fundamentally different to that of 50 years ago and banking has had to adapt during that period at considerable pace.

2.3.

The economy went from being local to