AT last, a long-standing liability is excised from Barclays with the #76m net settlement of the Atlantic Computers disaster.
Although a huge sum for most corporates, it is less than a third of the #250m the bank conceded it had dropped in August on the Russian financial crisis - a loss which was a major factor behind the resignation of chief executive Martin Taylor in November.
Market reaction to the announcement was clouded by the general setback in banking shares.
But that the shares closed the day just ahead of the game
indicated that the solution was judged as favourable.
At the least, Barclays has avoided a prolonged court case which could have dragged on until the middle of 2001 and where the gross liability including accrued interest would
possibly have amounted to almost #1bn.
Although it now a problem less to worry about, it does concentrate minds on the other difficulties with which the bank has to contend.
Barclays is looking for a chief executive and finance director, and perhaps some new non-executive directors, as not all the incumbents have covered
themselves with glory in recent months. It seems almost inconceivable that such a major financial institution should have got itself into such a mess - the
current finance director, Oliver Stocken, is staying on longer than he had planned while his replacement is found.
Stop-gap chief executive Sir Peter Middleton is undoubtedly doing a fine job.
But how can he find the time to think about future strategy in what promises to be one of the most momentous of financial years with the launch of the euro and the increasing uncertainties over economies?
However, when he takes over the chair from Andrew Buxton in a few months time, at least
Barclays will have a very experienced and capable pair of hands at the very top.
Taylor's successor will take a long time to be chosen and it may well be that a prominent high-profile outsider would
reassure the City more than an
internal candidate.
But then, Taylor was one of those.
A merger would perhaps be the ideal solution and there the usual candidates crop up, including Halifax and Prudential. Certainly, Barclays is now much more amenable to a friendly approach - as long as it is not from Lloyds TSB's Sir Brian Pitman.
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