Will Barclays’ latest concessions – offering ordinary shareholders £500m of debt securities, forsaking executive directors’ bonuses and putting the whole board up for re-election – be enough to avert a rebellion at next week’s vote?, asks Lex. Judging by the frosty response of the Association of British Insurers, investor approval cannot be taken for granted. Tossing some debt to institutions may smooth hackles, but existing shareholders still miss out on the return-enhancing warrants offered as a sweetener to the Gulf investors. That smacks of two-tier shareholder treatment. If Barclays’ shareholders rebel - or indeed if HBOS spurns Lloyds TSB - they now know they will only be offered a bail-out at eyewatering Gulf prices, not the terms available to all a month ago. Tough love from the government, tough luck for shareholders.
