Barclays 2012 Annual Report Download - page 8

Conclusion
I feel immensely privileged to be Chairman of this great organisation
at such an important point in its history. Barclays has a proud and
successful history. Its reputation has, however, been badly damaged
by recent events and it is crucial to restore trust in the eyes of
stakeholders. I am pleased to say that work is well underway under
the leadership of Antony Jenkins to do just that.
I have been impressed since joining Barclays by the quality of its people
and of its businesses. I would like particularly to thank our 140,000
employees worldwide who have shown commitment and loyalty to
both Barclays and our customers and clients. It is because of them that
I am confident in Barclays future.
Sir David Walker
Chairman
Responding to regulation
There is now emerging more clarity on the future shape of the
regulatory environment, although the precise details still need to be
resolved. It is, however, clear that intensive and intrusive regulation is
here to stay, together with higher levels and quality of capital and
liquidity. It is also clear that there will be significant structural reform
in the shape of a ring-fenced bank in the UK and other reforms in the
US, including the prospective need to create an intermediate US
holding company with its own capital and liquidity to hold Barclays
US subsidiaries. We will respond positively to these developments and
are already beginning the process of establishing a ring-fenced bank
here in the UK. We aim to continue to lead the sector in ensuring that
we can eliminate the ‘too big to fail’ problem through our work on
recovery and resolution planning.
The new regulatory environment will require changes to both
business models and cost structures. The Transform Programme and
Strategic Review that Antony Jenkins sets out in his CEO’s Review is
designed to address precisely these issues. However, care does need
to be taken to ensure that regulation does not go too far. A healthy
banking sector earning returns above the cost of equity is essential to
economic growth. It is important to ensure that the rightly increased
focus by the regulator on conduct supervision does not inadvertently
result in the withdrawal of services and the restriction of choice.
We must also not forget the many good things that Barclays does,
including:
£44bn We provided £44bn in gross new lending to UK
households and businesses in 2012
112,000 We supported the creation of 112,000 new
businesses in the UK
500 We welcomed over 500 apprentices in January
2013 and are on track to meet our commitment
to recruit 1,000 apprentices by the middle
of this year
£64.5m We invested a total of £64.5m in community
programmes globally in 2012, with 68,000
Barclays employees providing their time, skills
and money to charitable causes
750,000 We continue to innovate for the benefit of our
customers and clients; for example through
PayTag we have enabled over 750,000 mobile
phones to make contactless payments across
three countries, and through Pingit, the first
mobile payment application in Europe, we have
won numerous industry awards
£3.2bn We are a major taxpayer, with our total tax
contribution amounting to £3.2bn in 2012, in
addition to taxes paid on behalf of employees,
customers and clients
barclays.com/annualreport06 I Barclays PLC Annual Report 2012
Chairman’s statement continued