Interview: Barclays Pres. Robert Diamond On ABN AMRO Deal
Barclays President Robert Diamond will play a key management role in the merged company, now that the $91 billion dollar deal has been agreed. Diamond has been serving as President of Barclays PLC since 2005 and is also an executive director of the bank.
At the time of the deal's announcement, Diamond, who was vice chairman of CSFB when he moved to Barclays in 1996, was responsible for the investment banking and investment management business of the company.
Diamond told Erin Burnett on "Street Signs" that the deal is "not size for size sake" and puts the company in a "very solid position in terms of its portfolio of businesses. The new company, for example, will be No 1 in asset management and eighth in wealth management.
Diamond says that "a lot of the synergies are efficiency-oriented", referring to both systems and business units. Savings are about "becoming more efficient," he adds.
Diamond also emphasized the new company's "global reach", citing operations in Brazil, India, and South Africa on top of its more mature European operations.
As for whether Barclays would raise its offer price should a rival bid emerge, Diamond merely said "we're forging ahead."