Cross-border partnerships are tricky at the best of times. Each side tends to be wary of the other. Often cultural differences come to the fore. And then there’s the internal politics. So the failure of Barclays and Absa, the South African bank in which Barclays holds a 60% stake, to reach agreement on the sale of the UK bank’s other African businesses will only reinforce the impression that the relationship is tense.

The list of credit bosses to resign from their positions has grown longer. Grant Kvalheim has resigned as co-president of Barclays Capital, leaving Jerry del Missier as president of the UK bank under the chief executive, Bob Diamond. Kvalheim lost the credit trading book in the autumn to del Missier, leaving him with a somewhat reduced role. John Winter and Peter Goettler, who were part of the team that followed Kvalheim out of Deutsche Bank in 2001, continue in their respective roles as heads of European and US investment banking.

A broken watch shows the correct time twice a day. I have been a high priestess of gloom for at least a year and finally I can straighten my spine and look you in the eye. There were others who felt uneasy. Many senior bankers told me that the risks being taken were unsustainable. However, it was the investment banker, Paul, who put it most pungently.

Satish Selvanathan has left Barclays Capital, where he worked for two years under the leadership of ABS veteran Rob Ford. However, Ford left Barcap just before June to become a partner at Synapse – a credit hedge fund.

ABN merger may give global scale, but at what cost to the businesses that have driven the UK bank forward?

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