Barclays announces update to Capital Raising

Following the announcement of 31st October 2008 regarding Barclays proposal to raise over £7 billion of additional capital from existing and new strategic and institutional investors, a number of meetings and conversations have taken place between senior officers of Barclays and Barclays major institutional shareholders. The discussions have been constructive and the Board of Barclays has listened carefully to shareholders’ views.

Barclays has also held discussions in recent days with Qatar Holding LLC and entities representing the beneficial interests of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (“the Investors”) who agreed on 31st October 2008 to invest substantial funds into Barclays. The Investors wish institutional investors to be able to participate further in the capital raising. The Board of Barclays today announces that the Investors have each offered to make available up to £250m of Reserve Capital Instruments for clawback by existing Barclays institutional investors at par. By consequence £500m of Reserve Capital Instruments (excluding Warrants) will today be made available to Barclays institutional investors by way of a bookbuild placing.

There are no other changes to the Capital Raising announced by Barclays on 31st October 2008.

In recognition of the extraordinary circumstances of the Capital Raising, the Board of Barclays also announces that:

* all members of the Board will exceptionally offer themselves for re-election at the Barclays Annual General Meeting to be held in April 2009; and
* no annual bonuses will be paid to executive directors of Barclays PLC for 2008, following the offer by the executive directors to waive any annual bonus for 2008.

Barclays Capital is acting as the sole Bookrunner in respect of the placing of Reserve Capital Instruments to institutional investors and Credit Suisse and JPMorgan Cazenove are acting as Co-Managers.

The Board believes that all of the proposals to be put to the General Meeting of Barclays on 24th November are in the best interests of shareholders and of the Company and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions, as the Directors intend to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings.