Philip Augar The Bank That Lived A Little: Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market

The Bank that Lived a Little describes three decades of boardroom intrigue at one of Britain’s biggest financial institutions.

It is a tale of feuds, grandiose dreams and a struggle for supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents.

The disagreement between those ambitious for Barclays to join the top table of global banks, and those preferring a smaller domestic role more in keeping with the bank’s traditions, cost three chief executives their jobs and continues to divide opinion within Barclays, the City and beyond.

Philip Augar, a former banker with a doctorate in history, is the author of several previous books including the celebrated The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism (Allen Lane, 2000). He has held numerous public and private sector directorships and is currently chair of the UK government’s review of higher education. He contributes regularly to the Financial Times and the BBC.