Barclays chairman warns employees of ‘tough calls’

Barclays’ chairman John McFarlane told staff in a memo that the company will have to make some “tough calls” in the coming weeks as he seeks to boost returns, according to sources.

The lender must do more for shareholders, Mr McFarlane, 68, wrote in a memo to employees, according to the source.

A spokesman for the bank in London declined to comment.

Mr McFarlane fired chief executive officer Antony Jenkins in July after growing frustrated with the slow pace of restructuring.

He has since pledged to step up the pace of his overhaul and press on with cost cuts and disposals to bolster earnings, battered by surging legal costs.

The lender last week sold its Portugal business for about €100 million to Spain’s Bankinter SA.

Barclays shares have increased about 6.5 per cent this year after dropping 11 per cent in 2014 under Mr Jenkins. That’s the best performance this year among Britain’s five biggest lenders.

In his latest address to staff, Mr McFarlane said while the bank has made “genuine progress,” it needs to focus on driving core earnings growth, cutting bureaucracy and promoting ethical standards, according to the source.

Barclays announced in July it would cut more risk-weighted assets at its non-core unit than previously planned, lowering RWAs to about £20 billion by 2017.

The bank had previously targeted a reduction to £45 billion by the end of 2016.

- Bloomberg