Barclays eyes SWFs in push for investment banking

Barclays Plc is seeking to expand its relationships with sovereign wealth funds, or SWFs) and private equity giants as it broadens its footprint in advisory and equity underwriting.

The bank already has the talent it needs to make the shift after going on a hiring spree last year, chief executive officer C.S. Venkatakrishnan said in an interview with

Bloomberg Television.

“Previously, in the investment banking side we were working with corporations, and, since then, we still work with corporations in a very big way, but, in addition to that, you’ve got the financial sponsors and the sovereign wealth funds,” Venkatakrishnan said.

“The growth of concentrated pools of capital makes it important to have that full relationship with those players in the market.”

Barclays last month announced it would go on a £2 billion ($2.55 billion) cost-cutting drive and reorganize its reporting structure in order to boost profits.

The bank vowed to return at least £10 billion to shareholders in the coming years, while it boosts revenue to £30 billion. Barclays has long faced questions about the viability of its investment bank because of the amount of capital it consumes relative to other, higher-returning parts of Barclays’s business. Venkatakrishnan has said that is because it has a larger footprint in debt capital markets relative to peers, which is why he’s now focused on expanding in merger advisory and stock underwriting.

“When you move into advisory fees you start getting a better return on your capital — I think it is an important part of the shift,” he said on Monday.

As part of the changes last month, Venkatakrishnan shuffled his top managers. Adeel Khan was appointed sole head of the global markets division, while his former co-head Stephen Dainton became president of

Barclays Bank Plc and head of investment bank management. Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright are continuing in their current roles as co-heads of banking.

Vim Maru is the new CEO of Barclays UK, while Matt Hammerstein, the previous holder of that role, is now leading the UK corporate bank.

Sasha Wiggins is leading the private bank and wealth management division.