Saturday, January 25, 2020

Report into Barclays Financial Performance Analysis

Report into Barclays Financial Performance Analysis The following report is aimed at comment the findings of Barclays PLC financial performance analysis. The first section presents an internal and external analysis. The second comments a series of financial ratios. Finally, the last section concludes. Introduction Banks are an important part of the financial system. They channel financial resources from individuals who have surpluses to individuals who lack capital. Banks transfer these assets in the form of loans. Loans are evaluated and classified according to the default probability (risk). In this manner, Banks assure that lenders invest their wealth in trustable projects, that is, economically viable (Arnold, G., 2008). Banks, then, subside the research task from lenders and allow them to get a safe and constant return rates in a determined timeframe and conditions (Valdez, S., 2007). As any business, Banks are aimed at increasing the wealth of the owners. Banks employ accounting systems and economic models to measure their financial performance. Accounting and economic models evaluate: 1) whether the wealth of the owners is augmenting, and 2) at what extent (Atril, P., McLaney, E., 2008). They provide several financial indicators which help business management to control the enterprise performance; among them, the financial ratios are widely used. The purpose of this report is to comment the findings discuss how bank (Barclays PLC) overall performance should be evaluated. The first section presents a review of Barclays internal and external performance. The second section evaluates Barclays financial performance. Finally, the last section concludes. A review of Barclays internal and external performance Barclays is one of the worldwide leaders in financial services. It was founded in 1690 in the UK. Barclays has operations in 50 countries spanning over Europe, the US, and Africa. Its headquarters are located London, UK and employs 153,800 people worldwide (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays retail banking includes personal customers, home finance, local business, consumer lending and financial planning (DATAMONITOR, 2010). Internal performance Barclays capital strength has provided the company with resilience to cope adverse market conditions. For example, the companys liquidity pool increased to  £127 billion at 31st December 2009 from  £43 billion in 2008. Hence, cash flows allow the bank to negotiate better selling conditions in their product portfolio (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays has kept its lending growth volume regardless global economic situation. The bank has reduced its derivative assets; therefore, its balance sheet size has been reduced (BARCLAYS, 2009). However, Barclays operations are threatened by its weakness in cost management. Its subsidiaries in Western Europe registered detrimental costs in 2009. Thus, the bank may face difficulties in its expansion plans (BARCLAYS, 2009). On the other hand, Barclays mobile banking services have experienced a significant growth due to smart phones popularization. This new service portfolio is likely to reduce workload in banks branches; therefore a significant cost reduction may be achieved during the fiscal year 2010. Even though, internet and credit transaction fraud has also risen. Hence, information security investments may undermine cost management accomplishments (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays is pursuing to expand its operation in India and UAE. Even the bank has been present in both countries since 1970s; it does not have a considerable penetration. These markets have attractive conditions to increase the bank market share. Therefore, an expansion strategy for India an UAE is foreseeable (BARCLAYS, 2009). External performance Barclays impairment losses in 2009 affected banks profitability. This effect was present despite balance sheet size reduction. Disposal of these legacy assets is one of the main banks objectives for fiscal year 2010 (BARCLAYS, 2009). UK government legislation regarding Asset Protection is aimed at improving customers trust by clearing up banks balance sheets. However, there is no a complete strategy on this matter. These uncertainties add pressure on financial markets, making difficult banks capitalization. Besides, a more competitive environment will be roomed (BARCLAYS, 2008). Finally, mergers and consolidation in banking industry will make more difficult, for Barclays, to adjust pricing levels and protect their market position. However, Barclays has the resources and skills to tackle challenging business environments (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays financial performance ROE ROE ratio presents negative trend in the last three years. The cause of this behaviour was the increase in the operation costs, 25%, plus a drop of 25% in the interest income. The net effect was a drop of drop of 77% in the net income in 2009. In 2008, Barclays acquired Lehman Brothers, thus, the total financial figures of the bank were affected. This buy clarifies the abrupt changes in costs and interest incomes. Positive results of this acquirement may be reflected in one or two years; it can be said that this normal behaviour of acquirements (BARCLAYS, 2008). ROA ROA was also hit by the Lehman Brothers effect; the indicator fell 50% from 2007 to 2009. Total assets were duplicated during 2008 and the net income after taxes was a little bit higher than in 2007. However, in 2009, Barclays made a restructuration in its total assets and was able to reduce them a 44%, that is, total asset were almost the same than in 2007. Unfortunately, net income after taxes also dropped 44%. ROA indicator was, then, almost the same than in 2008. ROA hid the company efforts to align the bank to the pre-acquisition levels (BARCLAYS, 2009). Net Interest Margin Net interest margin improved in 2009. It surpassed 2007 value. Assets are producing more Interest profit than in 2007. This can be interpreted as a positive effect of the Lehman Brothers acquisition, since the asset combination is generation more income. However, the increment in operation costs undermined the net effect of these results (BARCLAYS, 2009). DuPont This indicator clearly shows the Lehman Brothers acquisition effects. The equity multiplier registered a growth during 2008. The net profit margin was almost 300% higher than in 2007. However, the asset utilization went down 518%. The net effect was a low ROE (BARCLAYS, 2008). In 2009, the equity multiplier, and net profit margin felt down 49.48%, and 63.45% respectively; whereas, asset utilization grew 281%. Even though, ROE ratio was the lowest one in the studied period. This erratic behaviour was caused by the total asset amount. Each indicator by itself does not provide enough information regarding how well the company is doing it. For instance, asset utilization seems to be worst than in 2007, therefore, the implication would be that acquisition was a bad deal for the bank. In the case of the Equity multiplier, the conclusion would be the same. But, the net profit margin figure seems more realistic and clearly shows that a growth of 10% in two years justify the buy (BARCLAYS, 2008). The ultimate result is indicating that the new company is expected to have a return in equity of 6.28%. However, this metric does not include dividend amounts; thus, investing in the new Barclays firm may still be attractive. DuPont exercise shows that any indicator does not have all information at glance, thus, they should be used in combination in order to provide relevant and useful information. By decomposing ROE in three different ratios, it is possible to understand the effect of total assets and the operating revenue into the companys investing profile. Besides, it is clear the effect of the increment in the cost of the sales and operations. From the graph, it can be seen that Lehman Brothers firm made a massive sales and their expenses were under control. However, it can be inferred that liquidity may be one of the relevant factors that pushed former owners to sell it. This thesis is aligned to the main causes of the 2007s global financial crisis. Therefore, the acquisition w as justified and was a good opportunity to improve the banks financial performance (BARCLAYS, 2009). Net Interest Margin This ratio shows a negative trend. The lowest value was registered in 2008. However, during this year the interest income registered the highest value during the period. In 2009 the interest income dropped 24.18% but asset were reduced almost 50%. Even though, they continued 12.34% above the 2007 value. The net effect was 25.24% below the 2007 mark. It is important to say that 2009 is a good result and shows how the bank is trying to move the new company to the levels in which the former one was operating. It can be inferred that the strategy is to stabilize the bank and then increase the profits. Acquisition was, again, the event that impacted the ratio behaviour (BARCLAYS, 2009). Earning base Earning base is indicating that bank is acquiring more assets which are directly implied with the profit generation, that is, that it is lending more money to customers. It is clear that in 2008, due to acquisition, the bank owned a series of assets which were overloading the cost structure. In 2009, the situation improved since assets were re-structured and their number was reduced. This indicator should not be higher than 50%. The rational is that banks earning assets are loans, thus, bank should ensure they payment of those loans whit its assets. Therefore a healthy ratio level may be around 50% (BARCLAYS, 2009). Operating Efficiency Ratio and Wage ratio The operating efficiency ratio shows that bank is struggling with its operating expenses. In 2007, the ratio was 187%, which means that bank was investing two resource units to produce one. In 2008, this indicator grew almost 2.5 times. However, the bank made a very good effort and reduced the figure 32%. When wage ration is included in the analysis, it presents a drop in 2008, due to redundancy. However, the operation expenses did not diminished; therefore the operation efficiency ratio did not improve. It can be implied that work force is not the biggest expense, as many author claim, but a combination of inefficient process and asset sub-utilization. Unfortunately, annual reports did not provide deep information (BARCLAYS, 2008, 2009). Interest Income / Total Assets and Interest Rate Risk Ratio The first ratio provides information regarding how much interest income is produced by the total assets that bank owns. This indicator shows a growing trend with a little drop in 2008 due to the total assets acquired from Lehman Brothers. Thus, Barclays is improving its asset utilization. Talking about interest risk ratio, this indicator should be ideally around 100% to ensure that all loans are backed up with assets. However, the bank registered values below 10%. On the other hand, this indicator also shows a growing trend, which means that this figure is going to improve in the future. This indicator also supports the 2008 acquisition (BARCLAYS, 2009). Liquidity Risk Ratio Cash is the blood of the business. This ratio is relevant because indicates the capacity of the bank to convert its asset in cash. This indicator showed a negative trend with a peak in 2008. Its value has never been below 90% which indicates that bank has no cash flow issues. However, it highly depends in the asset restructuration. According to the 2009 annual report, asset management is one of the key objectives of the current management board. Thus, liquidity risk ratio will improve during the next years (BARCLAYS, 2008). Capital Risk Ratio Capital risk ratio shows at what extent the bank is prepared to afford its long term compromises. Values on this indicator shows that bank is in a very good position since its long term compromises do not represent a high percentage of its total assets; the lower this indicator the best. However, it shows a growing trend accelerated by the 2008 acquisition. It can be inferred that management team is trying to either improve the bank resource availability, by long-term instruments, or restructuring the acquisition cost. The peak in 2008 can be explained by the heterogeneous asset combination post-acquisition (BARCLAYS, 2008, 2009). Conclusions After analysing Barclays bank ratios, it can be inferred that the acquisition of Lehman Brothers was an organic growth during crisis times. Thus, Barclays took advantage of the economic situation in 2008. Its solid cash figures allowed the bank to reject the bail-out plan from the UKs government. This action increased the customer preference for the bank. After acquisitions, the ratios tend to show bad results. However, this is somehow expected, since new components are added to the operation and a new organization is created. In the case of Barclays, these variations were not significant to the overall company performance. Finally, internal and external performance measurement is a complementary part of the ratio analysis. Ratio analysis is highly dependent on accounting information and the standards to gather that info. Thus, the results may vary if another set of accounting rules is applied. Internal and external performance measurement provides the background information to understand the number, trends and behaviours of the ratio result. Hence, both analyses are complementary rather than exclusive. Ratios provide a standard and normalized way to compare and analyze information, but they are meaningless by themselves. Ratio value is important, but it adds nothing to management process if it is not translated into coherent and relevant series of events which explain the root cause of that percentage. Thus, a good selection of indicator and measurements will guide the company to better results.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Security organizations and counterterrorism

It is explicitly declared in the manual that Muslim religious goals and quests can not be attained except by force though bombings, assassinations, as well as wanton slaughter of human beings. Anti-terror professionals are thus warned that it is almost futile to try to engage such extremists in any from of dialogue since it has been implanted into their conscious selves that only force and aggression can yield fruits. Counterterrorism efforts should thus not have discussion as one of the ways to manage terrorism since the militias are not responsive to dialogue.The manual declares that Muslims can only resist the alleged condition of unawareness by being united and conforming to Muslim religious ideals. Counterterrorist experts are thus informed to be vigilant and wary of Islamic groupings since such are the ideal places where Islamic militias congregate, strategize, and share ideas. The terrorism guidebook offers three key principles necessary for establishing Islamic military organ izations, which include: organization advisory committee and commander; soldiers; and a clearly-defined plan.This informs counterterrorism experts that Islamic terrorists are well-organized groups with a clear hierarchical power struc6ture. It is thus prudent to carry out a systematic dismantling of such organizations for effective handling of terrorism. Such measures would include firsts identifying the actual persons involved in terror activities, from planners to implementers, and then directly dealing with individual persons (Terrorist Training Manual, 2000).Several requirements for the Islamic military organizations are listed including: counterfeit money and fake documents; apartments plus hiding quarters; means of communication; means of transport; ammunition and arms; information; and transport. This implies that such Islamists are well prepared and hence counterterrorism personnel ought to have superior preparedness and planning in order to effectively tackle terrorism. Amo ng the missions of Islamic military organizations is to kidnap enemy documents, personnel, arms, and secrets.Counterterrorism experts are thus required to be vigilant in securing such entities at all times, particularly those belonging to nations which are ideological enemies with Islamic regimes. The assassination of overseas tourists and enemy personnel is another mission of Islamic militias. Counterterrorism should therefore seek to ensure the safety of tourists abroad by either offering guidelines on safe places to visit or issuing travel advisories if there is reason to fear for the safety of tourists while overseas.Another mission of Muslim jihadists is the spreading of rumors as well as issuing statements that incite the masses against he perceived enemy. Counterterrorism should thus aim to try to prevent the publication of such inciting statements, intercept and destroy them before they reach their target audience or destroy the places where they are produced. The jihadists as well have the mission of bombing and obliterating embassies plus attacking important financial centers.This calls for heightened and vigilant surveillance on the overseas facilities such as embassies and business premises owned by regimes which the Muslim jihadists consider as enemies. The jihadists also aim to blow up bridges linking cities with neighboring areas as one of their missions. It is vital for counterterrorism personnel to be on the lookout and secure vital bridges to avert any possible strikes. Recruits into the jihadist movement ought to be Muslims. This implies that counterterrorism personnel ought to concentrate on Muslim characters when managing terrorism.Members as well should be mature, that is of the age of majority. Counterterrorism should thus focus on mature Muslim persons when investigating terror activities. One requirement for membership is the ability and commitment top keep secrets even from the closest persons. Counterterrorism experts ought o be ther efore aware that it is hard to extract information from such terrorists and hence devise efficient methods of getting such information (Terrorist Training Manual, 2000).Regarding operational moneys, it is stated that they are to be split into 2 parts, with one segment going into schemes that provide monetary returns, while the other is kept to be spent only in the course of operations. This informs counterterrorism experts that the jihadists operate decoy projects which they use to earn cash for furthering their military objectives. Therefore, any enterprises having Muslim connections ought to be fully investigated to establish their owners, financiers and beneficiaries.The jihadists’ photos on traveling documents ought not to have a beard according to the manual. This should inform counterterrorism experts that the old notion that Muslims and jihadists always wear beards should be discarded so as to be able to effectively investigate the activities of suspect Muslims. Agreem ents are to be rent4ed preferably on ground floors to permit easy escape as well as digging ditches. Counterterrorism experts should thus be on the lookout particularly for suspects who live on ground floors when investigating terrorism activities.Apartments are to be rented preferably within newly-developed localities because people in such areas generally do not know each other and hence strangers are not as easily identifiable as in older neighborhoods. Counterterrorism experts therefore should particularly carry out surveillance in such neighborhoods for any suspicious characters. Organization members are instructed to offer information that is bound to mislead security agencies when they discover that their telephone conversations are being tapped into.This further complicates the work of counterterrorism agencies since they ought to be wary of volunteer information that is purported to implicate militants. Proper vetting and scrutiny of any informer-derived information is impo rtant to make sure that security agencies do not fall into the tricks of the jihadists and hence end up unnecessarily wasting time and possible resources (Terrorist Training Manual, 2000). The guidebook states that training venues for Islamic military organizations ought t to be located far away from areas with may people.Counterterrorism agencies therefore have got to conduct searches for such training sites away from major cities and towns preferably in the countryside where there are few people residing therein. The Islamic organization generally avoids overcrowded place such as, train stations, cafes, and recreation places. Security and counterterrorism agencies ought to specifically target less crowded places when carrying out anti-terrorism activities. Members of the organization carrying out strike operations are instructed not to appear Muslim-like and if possible, to completely disguise themselves.This is a challenge for security and counter-terror agencies since it appears like it is pointless to target and investigate overt Muslims regarding terrorism. Priority should be placed on members of the public who do not have outward Muslim appearances. Fighters in the Muslim military organization are taught beforehand about the answers to provide to security forces in the event that they are intercepted. Security agencies thus ought to be a bit more creative and flexible regarding the questions they field to suspects during interrogations.Routine, standard, and typical questions ought to be avoided. Questions should be asked depending on the environment so as to gather useful facts and surprise the Islamists into disclosing valuable information. The guidebook contains instructions to the effect that surveillance vehicle number plates and make should be similar to those of target vehicles. This should appropriately inform security agencies to be cautious when trailing or attacking suspicious vehicles as innocent persons, with cars matching the terroristsâ⠂¬â„¢ vehicle, may be involved.The Islamic organization is seemingly using ciphers according to the guidebook. Security organizations and counterterrorism personnel ought to be well versed with the various systems of cipher text currently employed so as to accurately and speedily interpret information when it is intercepted to facilitate quick and appropriate action (Terrorist Training Manual, 2000). Members of the Islamic organization are instructed not to confess of their involvement with the jihadist movement if they get arrested and are brought to trial.Security agencies should be aware that such characters will not provide any useful information that could lead to the dismantling of the terrorist cells. Other methods of obtaining information, other than interrogation and questioning ought to be developed to ensure effective handling of the terrorists and their activities. Members are as well instructed to be observant, alert, and watchful of the places they are interrogated at, which mostly are security facilities, so as to relay information to the jihadist movement regarding the physical set up of such buildings.This should ring a bell in security circles and appropriate places of interrogation should be created to avoid letting the Islamic militia get to know the set up of government facilities in case they plan future attacks on the same. Reference Terrorist Training Manual (May 2000). Provided courtesy of the Behavioral Analysis Program, Operational Training Unit, Counterintelligence Division, FBI Headquarters.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Essay on The Theme of Nature Versus Nurture in Shellys...

Nature versus nurture is a debate of importance of one’s qualities when born, or of their personal experiences, leading them to the point where they are today. â€Å"You got your green eyes from your mother and your freckles from your father. But where did you get your thrill-seeking personality and talent for singing?† (Kimberly Powell). Kimberly raises a question that has been asked for centuries, â€Å"Do you learn this growing up, or did you genetically inherit these traits? One of the themes of Frankenstein is nature versus nurture. The author, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, was born and raised in London, England. Shelley’s first and most famous novel was Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein, the main character in the novel, creates a creature using†¦show more content†¦it is still a greater evil to me that I am self-educated: for the first fourteen years of my life I ran wild on a common and read nothing but our Uncle Thomas books of voyage† (19). The nature of every young boy is to be outside and play with their friends. But, since Walton enjoyed reading his Uncles books, he spent a lot of time alone and did not have many friends. This continued throughout his life and even up to the point on the ship. Also, reading about his Uncles voyages gave Walton an ambition to go out and explore his World. Yet, Walton’s father was dying, and his guardian, Walton’s Uncle, did not let him have an adventure of his own, These volumes were my study day and night, and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, on learning my fathers dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark in a seafaring life (16). After reading his Uncles books, Walton wanted to live a life like his, to go out and make his own adventures. But since Walton’s father was dying, he was held back from what he truly wanted. This made his ambition for adventure greater and greater. Once Walton had inheri ted a large sum of money, it made his dreams possible. Walton had listened to his Uncle and been secluded his entire life, but when the opportunity arose, he was able to go to sea, You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment. But just at that time I inherited the fortune of myShow MoreRelatedHuman Cloning Debate: The Fate of Frankenstein1671 Words   |  7 PagesBackground When Frankenstein was adapted for stage in 1823 the productions title was Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein. A Victorian audience was concerned with the theme of a mans ambition to replace God by creating a new species. Equal emphasis was placed on this aspect of the novel in the 1831 introduction of Frankenstein, It is Mary Shellys critique of where such highly abstracted creative powers can lead when put in a realizing scientific context and then driven along by lofty

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The Film Blood Diamond By Edward Zwick - 1281 Words

In the film Blood Diamond, the director Edward Zwick uses the opening and closing scenes to show the socio-political effects of western consumerism in an underdeveloped society, in particular the Conflict Diamond trade and its effects, he uses this to highlight the idea of the ‘boy being the diamond’ within the film. Consumerism is seen to be the cause of death and destruction in the once beautiful landscape of Africa with portrait shots of mountains and beautiful sunsets. In both scenes the director uses camera shots, sounds and overall mis-en-scene/editing to create these themes/ideas. The socio-political thriller brings chaos and brutality to the forefront of what is a little known conflict trade. While the movie is full with dynamic characters the real star that is brought to light is the diamond, of which many audience members could be adorned in, making the realistic side of the film more obvious. The movie aims in this way to leave to audience with the question Is there Blood on my hands? In the first scene Zwick uses camera angles and dialogue/sound to emotionally grab the viewers and to shock/intrigue them. The scene opens with a fire lit match, showing a poor family, everything is quiet and settled in their home front until a group of rebels storm their small village and take Solomon captive. Against the background once portrayed as serene, a man has his hands amputated and is subsequently killed by the rebels. The scene also contains cross cuts from theShow MoreRelatedBlood Diamond Film Analysis1495 Words   |  6 PagesFilm analysis no.2 Statement of intent: This report will focus on the theme greed for diamonds in the film ‘Blood Diamond’ demonstrating this by the use of film techniques. The film I chose to analyse was ‘Blood Diamond’ directed by Edward Zwick. 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