Most banks work hard to say they’re different from the competition. But Barclays chief Antony Jenkins wants us to know his bank just like every other.
It’s a clever communication strategy for deflecting attention from the bank’s woes. But what does he do after that?
When you were a kid and got into trouble, probably your first thought was to spread the blame around. Sure, you were caught doing something bad, but others were doing the same or worse.
That’s essentially what Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins is saying. In a recent article in the UK’s Sunday Telegraph, he said the baking industry had “lost its way,” adding:
“A pursuit of short-term profits saw banking become too aggressive and disconnected from the needs of our customers, clients and wider society. Rules were bent and, at times, broken even when promises were being given that the excesses had been stopped.”
He was fortunate to get an entire column to make his case without a rebuttal or the difficult questions that would have accompanied an interview.
The rest of his column speaks about the ways in which the economic and political environment for banking has permanently changed, how banks will be held more accountable and why the good old days aren’t coming back.
It’s hard to find fault with the piece (unless you are a highly paid banker yearning for the glories of 2007), and that’s exactly its purpose.
Because right now, Barclays wants to be viewed as reasonable and public-minded. It wants to be in the middle of the banking pack while the industry goes through a wrenching transformation. It does not want to be seen as exceptional, because that would only draw unwanted attention from politicians, the press and restive shareholders. (Sounds like a return to the unpleasantness of the Bob Diamond era.)
By wrapping himself in the industry, Jenkins also minimizes expectations for his performance. After all, no one expects him to change the entire banking industry.
But what they should expect of him is a strategy to change Barclays. He’ll have that chance on February 12, when he unveils his strategic plan for the bank. It’s his chance to start saying how Barclays will be different.