Barclays

By Tania Page in Europe on January 27th, 2010
Photo by AFP
Banking reform is very much at the forefront of the debate in Davos.
 
Among sessions as varied as ‘Haiti: First Responders back from the Front-Line,’ and the presentation of the Crystal Awards, there was a lively discussion about taking financial risks.
 
In contrast to last year’s forum, when bankers stayed away – reeling from the shock of the global economic meltdown – this year the bankers are back and on the defensive.
 
Responding to US President Barack Obama’s suggestion that banks were too big that they should either opt to be risk takers, or run themselves as traditional savings and loans operations, Bob Diamond, the head of Barclays bank, said he’d seen "no evidence to suggest that shrinking banks is the answer”.  
 
By Teymoor Nabili in Business on January 27th, 2010
Photo by EPA

Maybe Barack Obama's eyes have, indeed, suddenly been opened to the need for reform of the financial sector.

But while he deliberates over the issue, the bankers continue to  present a solid front.

Bob Diamond, the president of Barclays, is the latest to warn of the dire consequences that must surely follow should his bonus sink to below the amount necessary to help him keep the makers of luxury yachts in work.

Diamond, warned today that Obama's plans to limit the size of banks would hit jobs, growth and global trade.

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