Barclays shores up capital to offset losses

摘要

Barclays has announced a plan to sell ￡4.5bn ($8.8bn) of shares to a mixture of foreign investors to boost depleted capital. The much-anticipated plan envisages 1.58 billion new shares being offered to Temasek Holdings of Singapore, the Qatar Investment Authority, China Development Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Challenger, a company representing Qatar's royal family. To stave off complaints from institutional investors in the UK, the bank announced the shares can be "clawed back" by investors who already hold bank stock. They will be able to but three new shares for every 14 shares they already own. In a mark of confidence, chief executive John Varley said that only half the funds will be used to bolster its balance sheet, while the rest will be used for new business opportunities. James Hutson, and analyst at KBW, sees the move as positive, since core capital will be above 6%, there were no further write-downs announced and the dividend will be paid in cash with an 11 % yield.