Shareholder Alert: Wolf Popper LLP Announces the Filing of Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against Barclays PLC (BCS)

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 23, 2022) - Today, prominent investor rights law firm Wolf Popper LLP ("Wolf Popper") filed a class action lawsuit for violations of the federal securities laws in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Barclays PLC ("Barclays" or the "Company") and certain of the Company's senior executives (collectively, "Defendants") on behalf of investors that purchased or otherwise acquired Barclays American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") on a U.S. open market during the period from February 18, 2021 through March 25, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period").

The case is captioned City of North Miami Beach Police Officers' and Firefighters' Retirement Plan and City of North Miami Beach General Employees' Retirement Plan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 1:22-cv-08172 (S.D.N.Y.). A copy of the complaint is available on Wolf Popper's website by clicking here.

Barclays' Alleged Fraud

Barclays is a British universal bank. Its businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as global corporate and investment banking.

Barclays has disclosed that starting on February 18, 2021, Barclays Bank PLC ("BBPLC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays, issued and sold approximately $17.64 billion in unregistered securities over and above the maximum amount of securities registered in two BBPLC shelf registration statements. Barclays has also admitted that "by virtue of the fact that the over-issuance occurred and was not immediately identified, both [Barclays] and BBPLC had a material weakness in relation to certain aspects of their internal control environment and, as a consequence, their internal control over financial reporting for the year ended 31 December 2021 was not effective." As a result of the over-issuance, Barclays has restated its financial statements included on its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021. BBPLC has also commenced a rescission offer for the unregistered securities.

The complaint alleges, among other things, that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements or omitted material information (a) in Barclays reported financial statements (which have been restated), (b) by stating that Barclays internal controls over financial reporting were effective (which Barclays has admitted were not effective and had a material weakness), and (c) by failing to disclose the over-issuance, and that BBPLC was violating U.S. securities laws and/or SEC regulations, subjecting Barclays to legal liability.

The truth began to emerge on Monday March 28, 2022, when, before the trading market for Barclays ADRs opened for the day, Barclays disclosed the over-issuance for the first time, and informed investors that BBPLC had issued approximately $15.2 billion in unregistered securities in excess of the maximum amount of securities registered in an August 2019 shelf registration statement, that BBPLC would commence a rescission offer for those unregistered securities, and that Barclays expected the rescission losses to be c.£450m (approximately $589.5 million). In response to this news, the price of Barclays ADRs declined 10.61%, or $0.96 per ADR, from a closing price on Friday March 25, 2022 of $9.05 per ADR to a closing price of $8.09 per ADR on Monday March 28, 2022, the next trading day.

On July 28, 2022, before the trading market for Barclays ADRs opened for the day, Barclays announced that BBPLC had also over-issued unregistered securities in excess of the maximum amount of securities registered in a second BBPLC shelf registration statement, and that Barclays had provisioned "£1,592m [approximately $1.940 billion] (December 2021: £220m) related to the overissuance of structured notes and £165m [approximately $201 million] (December 2021: nil) related to liabilities that could be incurred arising out of ongoing discussions in respect of a potential SEC resolution." In response to this news, the price of Barclays ADRs declined $0.41 per ADR, or 5.2%, from a closing price of $7.89 per ADR on July 27, 2022 to a closing price of $7.48 per ADR on July 28, 2022.

Deadline to Seek Appointment as Lead Plaintiff

If you wish to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class, you must file a motion with the Court no later than Tuesday November 22, 2022, which is 60 days after the publication date of this notice. Any member of the proposed Class may seek to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed Class.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Joshua W. Ruthizer of Wolf Popper at 212-451-9668, or via e-mail at jruthizer@wolfpopper.com.

About Wolf Popper

Wolf Popper has successfully recovered billions of dollars for defrauded investors. Wolf Popper's reputation and expertise have been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed the firm to major positions in securities litigation. For more information about Wolf Popper, please visit the Firm's website at www.wolfpopper.com.

Attorney Advertising: Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome.

Contact

Wolf Popper LLP
Joshua W. Ruthizer
845 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Tel.: (212) 451-9668
Tel.: (877) 370-7703
Email: jruthizer@wolfpopper.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138307