Barclays takes axe to bankers' bonuses amid profit drop

British banking giant Barclays slashed its bonus pool by a quarter on Friday amid a furious backlash over excessive bankers' pay, and revealed a 16-percent drop in annual net profits.
The bank said profit after tax slid to £3.0 billion (3.57 billion euros, $4.74 billion) in 2011 from £3.56 billion in 2010 on slumping revenue at its investment division Barclays Capital.
The bank added that it was reducing its total bonus pot to £2.15 billion, down 25 percent compared with 2010, but trade union leaders said the payouts to Barclays' top staff remained far too large.
"I am proud of what our people at Barclays achieved in 2011," the bank's chief executive Bob Diamond said in the company's results statement.
"Against the backdrop of challenging economic and market conditions, we maintained our focus on clients and customers while supporting the real economy, as well as the needs of our shareholders, colleagues and the communities in which we operate.