By Alice Seeley
British Bank Barclays announced on March 28 it would buy back structured notes at a loss of $591 million after it exceeded the U.S. limit on sales of structured products. The error occurred over “approximately one year,” Barclays stated.
As a result, Barclays also announced that it would delay a $1.3 billion share buyback planned for this quarter. The bank hopes to conduct the buyback in the second quarter of this year.
Barclays’s error could reduce shareholders’ future capital distributions. Many of the products involved in this incident were connected to the price of oil and fuel, which have been dramatically affected by the Russian invasion. The blame lies mostly on Barclays’ CEO, C. S. Venkatakrishnan, who was the head of risk when the mistake was made.
Barclays and U.S. authorities will conduct investigations into how this incident occurred. Barclays stated that it “has commissioned an independent review of the facts and circumstances relating to this matter including, among other things, the control environment related to such issuances. Separately, regulatory authorities are conducting inquiries and making requests for information.”
Most Barclays stockholders are not happy about these announcements. However, some are more unhappy than others. An anonymous Barclays shareholder is attempting to sell 575 million shares of Barclays stock, around 3.5% of all Barclays stocks. Goldman Sachs, a U.S. investment bank, has been advised to sell most of its Barclays stocks.
Since the announcement on Monday morning, Barclays stock has decreased by 4% and is expected to decrease more before stabilizing.
