BarCap President Sees More Validation In 'Transformational' Deal
September 09 2009 - 4:40PM
Dow Jones News
Barclays Capital President Jerry del Missier said Wednesday he's
gotten even more validation that the Lehman Brothers gamble is
paying off.
With the anniversary of that deal just days away, Barclays was
named the top fixed-income house on Wall Street by a well-tracked
industry survey. Del Missier believes that's high honors given the
tumult of 2008.
"The deal was certainly transformational for us in the U.S.
instantaneously," he told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
"There was a lot to keep us busy."
Indeed, both Barclays and Lehman scrambled to mesh together amid
the biggest overhaul of Wall Street since the Great Depression. The
biggest changes came with JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM)
acquisition of Bear Stearns and Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC)
takeover of Merrill Lynch, while major European players
retreated.
Barclays Capital was ranked highest for fixed-income market
share and the quality of its debt sales, trading and research by
institutional investors polled by Greenwich Associates.
The firm received 14.8% of overall fixed-income market share,
with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) faring second with 14.2%. Both
firms were boosted last year through acquisitions of fixed-income
powerhouses, with JPMorgan buying Bear Stearns.
Greenwich Associates said both Barclays and JPMorgan "separates
themselves from other competitors and established themselves as the
clear market leaders." The Stamford, Conn.-based research firms'
survey, which polls nearly 1,100 institution investors, is closely
followed by Wall Street.
"We knew that the fixed income business was going to be the
combination of two great platforms, and this result was a
validation of that belief," he said. "Lehman had a strong fixed
income business without a doubt, and if anything, we have
strengthened that platform."
As the year progresses, del Missier said Barclays Capital will
strengthen its position by expanding in areas that some competitors
have pulled back on.
Among those areas are prime brokerage services. He also believes
the sub-investment grade area of fixed income represents an
"untapped potential," and municipal bonds and other areas of
government debt also could drive business.
-By Joe Bel Bruno, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2469;
joe.belbruno@dowjones.com