Barclays: Bob Diamond would have resigned today Only months after the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, the North American operations of which were bought by Barclays, the bank signalled its goal to become a "premier" investment bank to challenge the likes of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Looking back on these plans, they seem almost ludicrously optimistic and show just quite how greatly Mr Diamond and his management team misjudged the impact the financial crisis would have on the industry. Two banking commissions in the UK and a host of European and international regulatory changes have rendered the old model obsolete. There is no doubt that shareholders would have forced Mr Diamond out of his job after today's announcement and there is likely that after being asked to stump up nearly £6bn to pay for the bank's recovery they will now expect Mr Jenkins to deliver.