Barclays Is Greatest, Most Honest Bank In The World, Announces Barclays
Barclays was not lying last week when it categorically shot down scurrilous reports that it was about to take a $10 billion writedown, a denial the bank backed up this morning when it announced a writedown of only $2.7 billion on investments related to the subprime mortgage market. Of course, when they said there was “absolutely no substance to those rumors,” they meant to say “those rumors are only 27 percent correct,” but whatever: details. How do you like Barclays now? Probably not as much as Barclays likes itself. “Today’s extensive disclosure demonstrates the strength and resilience of our performance during the year and in particular during the turbulent month of October,” chief executive John Varley said in a statement.
Incidentally: You should watch this
Earlier: Barclays: $10 Billion Writedown Rumor Has As Much Merit As The One About James Cayne Smoking Dope
Barclays Writes Down $2.7 Billion on Mortgage Losses [Bloomberg]
A stitch in time [Breaking Views]
Barclays Ends Speculation Over Subprime Exposure [WSJ]