Scammer
Banned
-- Barclays increased its profit from continuing operations by a third in 2010, while paying £3.4B ($5.4B) of bonuses and other performance-related payments to staff.
Bob Diamond, the bank's new chief executive, also announced on Tuesday that he would increase the pace and intensity of efforts to improve its financial performance in a tightening regulatory environment.
"The returns we are currently generating will not be acceptable to our shareholders over the medium term," he said.
Aided by a steep decline in loan impairment charges and other credit provisions, Barclays said its annual pre-tax profit from continuing operations had been £6.1B ($9.8B), up 32% on the £4.6B ($7.4B) it recorded in 2009.
The profit figure was better than a £5.7B ($9.2B) average yielded by a Reuters analysis of analyst forecasts.
However, it was only about half the £11.6B ($18.7B) overall profit reported a year earlier -- a number that swelled by a £6.3B ($10.1B) gain on the sale of Barclays Global Investors.
The £3.4B cost of bonuses and other "performance awards" was 7% less than the equivalent figure in 2009. It excluded charges related to sums deferred from previous years but included 2010 awards that would vest in future years.
"It is the compensation based on the year just ended," Mr Diamond said.
Performance awards at Barclays Capital, its investment banking arm, fell 12% to £2.6B ($4.2B). When salaries were included, compensation at BarCap still declined, Mr Diamond said.
The 2010 bonuses include awards to senior Barclays staff made under a new deferred payment arrangement that links the eventual sum received to the group's capital strength.
A final dividend of 2.5p a share has been proposed, making 5.5p for the year, compared with 2.5p in 2009.
Barclays shares rose 2% to 316.9p in early trading in London on Tuesday.