The company's preliminary reports released this morning show the bank has made record profits of £11.6 billion but, according to The Guardian, chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond declined a bonus despite being offered a payment by the remuneration committee.
According to The Guardian, for investment bankers at Barclays Capital the average bonus is £95,000.
Philip Henson, partner and employment specialist at law firm Bargate Murray, said: "Many members of the public will again be baying for the blood of the elite Barclays Capital bankers who will be sharing out the new bonus pie. However, do they have grounds to do so?
"I am sure that if RBS, which is majority owned by the taxpayer, had announced such gargantuan figures then there would be marches in the streets. The antagonism against the bankers in recent months has focused on those that have received government (that is, taxpayers') money. Will the public remember that Barclays declined to receive government money, and instead sought several billion in new capital through mainly Middle East institutional investors? I would hope so, and perhaps in Barclays case the banker-bashing vitriol will subside.
"Barclays Capital will not be immune to criticism. There will no doubt be a long line of ministers lining up to harangue the bankers; it is an election year after all, and the state of the economy will be the subject at the forefront of every voter's mind when they go to the ballot box."
