Barclays Capital boss pockets £5 million
Bob Diamond, the boss of Barclays Capital (the investment banking division of Barclays Bank), has sold 1.8 million shares for a cool £5 million. This is in addition to the £27 million he received from the recent sale of the bank's fund management arm and further illustrates why the UK government and the UK regulators appear to be targeting the UK financial arena.
At a time when the sector is attempting to play down any accusations of a quick return to the boom times, we have also seen a number of chief executives of other companies also collect large share bonuses. Bob Diamond himself has been one of the government's harshest critics regarding the banking bonus windfall tax although this week's revelation could have been better timed.
In many ways the UK banking sector is a law unto itself but many people forget that it is the UK banking sector which has pushed the UK economy to new highs over recent years. The sector has attracted massive international investment and London has been one of the more prominent financial centres in the world for many years. Whether the UK government taxation on the banking industry will backfire in the short term remains to be seen.
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