FT Alphaville " Barclays" PR rating: "D" You're in a crisis, you want advice, right? Preferably from someone who has experienced a similar crisis. Step forward Mark Arena. He ran investment banking corporate comms for UBS in London before moving to New York to be the bank's head of comms there, just in time for the Great Crunch and the near-implosion of his employer. So he has frontline form. After escaping UBS last year Arena set up The PR Verdict, a kind of peer review site for felts. He picks a subject in the news, like the Vatican's inability to manage its press, offers his own verdict and then invites the PR Verdict community to share their thoughts. Here then is the verdict on Barclays: Isn't it nice to know that Barclays PLC and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay more than $450 million to settle charges that it attempted to manipulate key global interest rates? The announcement of the largest-ever fine was accompanied by much huffing and puffing about market integrity. Everyone agrees; terrible business. Why, even Bob Diamond, Barclays CEO, and his three chief lieutenants waived their bonuses in recognition of the seriousness of the issue. Barclays said all the right things on the day. It humbly acknowledged the actions "fell well short of the standards to which Barclays aspires." This was a mea culpa, albeit somewhat measured, given that the Department of Justice is continuing with its criminal probe. This could get uglier, no doubt. But was that it? Was there a lost paragraph to the announcement? Yes, investigations are continuing, yes other firms are involved, and yes, Barclays has been assisting every regulator it possibly can. Fair enough, but the key question remained unanswered in Barclays" formal statement. Has ANYONE lost their job or been suspended? Has there been a clearing of the decks? The PR Verdict: "D" (It's a Dud) for Barclays for avoiding disclosure of the most important piece of news: Is anyone's head going to roll? PR Takeaway: One way to draw a line over bad behavior is to draw a line over bad employees. If the bank is committed to turning a new page in ethics, why not update stakeholders about who was, or will be, fired? Even if previously disclosed, say it again. Waiving a bonus counts for something, but making it clear to inside and outside stakeholders that certain behaviors will not be tolerated goes further. This was an odd omission in a statement that went to lengths to make it clear that these issues won't happen again. Related links: Felt Tips - Michael Davies's blog at Gorkana This entry was posted by Paul Murphy on Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 16:25 and is filed under People. Tagged with barclays, bob diamond, mark arena, PR Verdict.