Barclays sued by investors over multibillion securities blunder

Bloomberg

Barclays Plc was sued by shareholders who claim they suffered significant losses after the British lender disclosed that paperwork errors led it to accidentally issue billions of dollars more in structured and exchange-traded notes than it had registered for sale.
The bank and its executives “made materially false and misleading statements” and failed to disclose important information about both the improper over-issuance of securities and the efficacy of internal controls and procedures, a group of investors led by public employee pension funds said in a proposed class-action complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan.
The complaint cited Nigel Higgins, chairman of Barclays, saying that stopping the over-issuance wasn’t “rocket science.”
Barclays said in March that it issued about $36 billion of investment products after registering with US regulators in August 2019 to sell up to $20.8 billion, pushing the firm to repurchase affected securities and take a $591 million hit.
The disclosure sent the share price for the bank’s American Depositary Receipts down about 11%
on the next trading day, according to the complaint.
The suit was brought by the City of North Miami Beach Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Retirement Plan and City of North Miami Beach General Employees’ Retirement Plan.
Barclays and its executives “knew or were reckless” about whether public documents and statements shared by them were deceptive, investors said in the complaint.

Return to Offices Four Days a Week
Barclays Plc has told its investment bankers to work from the office at least four days a week, saying worsening market conditions mean a greater need for in-person collaboration.
Starting October 3, the company expects dealmakers around the world to be back in the office Monday through Thursday, according to a memo sent to staff this week and seen by Bloomberg.
Such a return is especially important in the context of “tougher market environments like the current part of the cycle where proactive engagement and thought-provoking content is most important for our clients.” It will also help the development of younger bankers, the memo said.
Still, the bank said it will continue to “embrace a hybrid model,” noting that the pandemic proved that flexibility can be a “natural part” of how teams operate.
The memo follows similar moves from banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Last week, Jefferies Financial group Inc. asked employees to come in on a “more consistent basis,” but said it won’t check badge swipes and has “no issue” with staffers working from home from time to time.

Barclays Makes Slew of Equity Capital
Markets Promotions
Barclays Plc has promoted several senior executives across its global equity capital markets business, even as some rivals look to trim ranks in a sluggish market for share sales.
The UK bank has named Erik Charbonneau and Rob Stowe to the newly created positions of co-heads of Americas ECM and made Lawrence Jamieson head of ECM for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.