When the U.K. or U.S. government issues bonds to fund a deficit, the buyers are not solely in the U.K. or the U.S. – they’re in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Investment banks provide direct access to these buyers. Bob Diamond Read Quote
If someone can’t behave with their colleagues and can’t be part of the culture, it doesn’t matter how good they are at what they do; they have to be asked to leave. Bob Diamond Read Quote
The ultimate arbiters of the models of banking and the management of banking are the investors. It’s the shareholders. Bob Diamond Read Quote
In our equities business, 49 of the 50 most important Lehman clients are back doing business with us. The flows are 75 to 80 per cent of what they were prior to the bankruptcy. The issues which damaged Lehman were around commercial mortgages and illiquid private equity assets. Bob Diamond Read Quote
I recall my dad saying about me once that the only time he’d ever heard me say ‘never’ was when I was asked if I’d had enough. Bob Diamond Read Quote
My obligation is to the owners of Barclays, my shareholders. They hired me. People who criticise compensation for individuals in isolation at, say, BarCap, individuals who don’t work in the U.K. and are competing with U.S., German or Asian banks, they should look at all these factors. Bob Diamond Read Quote
Is it okay for a U.S. bank to pay a U.S. banker but not a U.K. bank to pay a U.S. banker? Bob Diamond Read Quote
You shouldn’t be trying to create a system where no bank fails, but you should be creating one that catches a bank and allows it to fail without impacting the financial markets. Bob Diamond Read Quote
