Simon English: Another fine mess takes the gloss off Staley’s good news
“YOU can always count on the Americans to do the right thing. After they have exhausted all other possibilities.” That was supposedly Winston Churchill, way back when. Historians dispute whether he actually said it, so perhaps he was really talking about Barclays, led by the American Jes Staley.
The bank’s decision to make a screeching U-turn on its plan to stop letting customers withdraw cash at post offices seemed a matter of inevitability. They did the right thing, eventually.
The trouble is this is not exactly the first time Staley and his board had to go the long way round. Barclays is accident-prone. If there’s an opportunity for it to trip over its own shoe-laces, it will probably take it.
The Post Office faceplant is concerning since it seemed so easy to avoid. It happened in slow motion; there was plenty of time for the bank to put its hands out and at least break the fall. Which raises the question of what else the bank is missing. It seemed rather slow to acknowledge that the PPI issue was far from dead.
A flood of late claims as the deadline approached wasn’t exactly impossible to foresee. The fear that other disasters must lurk somewhat overshadows results that, if you were a member of staff, could almost make you proud
At the moment Barclays looks like the best of the UK banks, the cream of an admittedly not particularly inspiring crop. The investment bank is strong. The shares have been moving up smartly for the last month. The Staley strategy is working.
History suggests it’s a matter of time only before the bank conspires against itself to make a mess of this, but it would be nice to be wrong.
