Barclays 2007 Annual Report Download - page 135

2
Governance
Corporate governance
Corporate governance report
Barclays PLC Annual Report 2007 133
Group Chairman’s Introduction
I am pleased to report to you on the activities of the Board
and its Committees over the past 12 months, my first year
as Group Chairman. It has been an eventful and busy
year but we have continued to apply the high standards
of corporate governance that we set both for ourselves as
a Board and for our Company.
Since I last reported to you, there have been a number of
changes to the Board. Chris Lucas succeeded Naguib Kheraj
as Group Finance Director in April 2007 and we have
significantly strengthened the independent non-executive
presence on the Board with the appointments of David
Booth, Sir Michael Rake and Patience Wheatcroft.
We report below on how we have complied in 2007 with
the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance (the
Code). We are committed to promoting good corporate
governance. We seek to be at the forefront of global best
practice and to respond, in a timely fashion, to corporate
governance developments. To gain a greater understanding
of the corporate governance framework within Barclays
I encourage you to read ‘Corporate Governance in Barclays’,
which is available from our website.
Marcus Agius
Group Chairman
7th March 2008
Statements of Compliance
UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance
As Barclays is listed on the London Stock Exchange we comply with the
UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance (the Code). The Code was
revised in June 2006 and the revised Code applied to Barclays with effect
from 1st January 2007. For the year ended 31st December 2007, we have
complied with the relevant provisions set out in section 1 of the Code and
applied the principles of the Code as described in this report.
NYSE Corporate Governance Rules
Barclays has American Depositary Receipts listed on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is therefore subject to the NYSE’s Corporate
Governance rules (NYSE Rules). As a non-US company listed on the NYSE,
we are exempt from most of the NYSE Rules, which domestic US companies
must follow. We are required to provide an Annual Written Affirmation to
the NYSE of our compliance with the applicable NYSE Rules and also to
disclose any significant ways in which our corporate governance practices
differ from those followed by domestic US companies listed on the NYSE.
As our main listing is on the London Stock Exchange, we follow the UK’s
Combined Code. Key differences between the NYSE Rules and the Code
are set out later in this report.