(4 September 2012 – United Kingdom) Incoming Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins told The Sunday Times he is looking to shrink the investment bank division, indicating there was “no doubt” tough banking sector regulations would “make some activities in investment banking difficult to make an adequate return on”.He said profits would be hit by British plans to force banks to ringfence their retail activities.
At the same time, Europe’s major banks will also be forced to hold more cash as a buffer against any other financial crises, under looming Basel III rules.
‘There are a number of external factors coming down the line and regulation is clearly a very powerful one,’ Jenkins told the newspaper.
He said separately he wishes to listen and learn from external shareholders, to see if they have any concerns on how the bank is run.
Jenkins has replaced Bob Diamond after his resignation in July over the Libor rate-rigging scandal.