New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Barclays Plc on June 25th, accusing the bank of misleading customers, including malicious moves and decisions by executives, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Barclays was “telling investors they were diving into safe waters”, while its dark pool “was full of predators – there at Barclays’ invitation,” Schneiderman said.
These are the first allegations of misleading and false representations since Mr. Antony Jenkins was appointed for a Chief Executive Officer of the bank in August 2012. According to people familiar with the situation, several broker-dealers were quick to remove Barclays so-called “dark pool” from their routing systems after the allegations became public.
During the two years spent as head of the bank, Mr. Jenkins main goal is said to have been the recovery of Barclays reputation, and the discontinuation of potentially harmful and risky practices. “I recognise that what matters now is not public commitment to change but, rather, demonstrating it over time and earning the trust and permission to be believed – and we will do that,” he said in a comment earlier this month, cited by the Financial Times.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of SVM Asset Management Ltd – Mr. Colin Mclean commented on the situation for Bloomberg: “Hes lost some credibility. He hasn’t achieved the cultural change he’s talked about. A lot of activities will come under scrutiny.”
A spokesman of Barclays Plc refused to make any comments on the situation, as well as on the relationship of the bank with broker-dealers.
Barclays Plc added 0.21% to trade at 215.40 pence per share by 13:34 GMT, marking a one year change of -18.60%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 28 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Barclays Plc have a median target of 290.50, with a high estimate of 365.00 and a low estimate of 203.22. The median estimate represents a 35.12% increase from the last price of 215.00.
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