Broker snap: Swift Barclays appointment is on the money

10th Aug 2012 13:47

You only need to look at the share price to see the warm welcome the City has given to the appointment of City veteran Sir David Walker as the new Chairman of Barclays, but just in case there was any doubt, brokers have been weighing in to lend their support."We struggle to see how the board could have found a better candidate for the role given his long career in financial services, including both investment banking and retail banking, close connections with the Treasury and Bank of England, and his keen interest in corporate governance via the Walker Review," is the view of Gary Greenwood at Shore Capital. "Importantly, he also has no previous ties with Barclays that we are aware of, making him the independent appointment that we had deemed a necessity if Barclays is to clean up its reputation," he adds.Meanwhile Ian Gordon at Investec applauds both the choice of Chairman and the speed with which it was made, but suggests that the appointment of a new Chief Executive is more important."Above all else, we see Barclays as a strong, defensively positioned bank trading at the wrong price," Gordon argues, adding that it has outperformed all UK banks since its LIBOR scandal-related sell-off.JH