Bob Diamond delivers a sparkling masterclass in persuasion

12 April 2012

The "unacceptable face of banking" as Lord Mandelson once dubbed him, did his level best to look totally acceptable before the Treasury Select Committee today.

Bob Diamond's thick, black (too black for a 59-year-old?) hair was firmly brushed.

The Barclays boss's crisp shirt was bright blue, his red silk tie providing a smart contrast. He wore rimless glasses. He spoke slowly and carefully in his native Massachusetts drawl.

And as befitting a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, he batted away the MPs' curve-balls with ease.

He never allowed himself to appear fazed. He smiled when he had to, dropped in a polite "sir" in that way Americans do, disarmed David Ruffley MP who was getting uppity with a courteous and friendly "David" and, to laughter, said to Labour MP John Mann, "you're not a big fan of Barclays, are you?"

On the difficult questions, Diamond leaned back in his chair and answered at his own pace. And got his doubtless carefully rehearsed messages across.

These were that banks should be allowed to fail; his bank, Barclays has been doing business here since 1690 and loves this nation with a passion and has no intention of defecting abroad; the economy needs a strong Barclays, particularly as it moves from public to private sector growth; Barclays is careful and doesn't take wild risks; Barclays behaves entirely properly; the bank is there for the little guy, willing to step in and help when it can.

As a masterclass in deflation and persuasion, Diamond's display took some beating.

The cheek of the man who picked up £75 million in pay and perks over the last five years!

He even copied a trick applied by politicians, of drawing on a tear-jerking example of the ordinary chap struggling through this complicated world of ours.

In Diamond's case, it was his encounter yesterday with a Welsh sheep-farmer who turned to Barclays for help and the bank was happy to oblige.

The farmer felt let down by another UK bank and had gone to Barclays.

And Bob took a breather from running a global financial empire and his grooming and training before appearing before the inquisitors at Westminster to hear his problems.

Oh Bob! Did you really? What's the farmer's name? What's the bank he's left? How many sheep does he have?

Of course, the bank's legion of PRs will have the answer to these questions or not — because they can always claim customer confidentiality and must check with the farmer first.

But that was top drawer, straight from the school of hand-on-heart anecdote telling as practised by the likes of ... David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Peter Mandelson.

It was genius. And behind those rimless spectacles, for the most fleeting of moments, I swear I saw Diamond's eyes smirk.

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