[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Barclays took what might prove to be a changing step, when it made the decision that it would release a list of staff persons whose 2012 earnings topped £1 million – or $1.5 million.  Next week, as the bank releases its annual report, the British retail and investment bank will provide an outline of the various pay brackets among its 140,000 person work force.  It is reported that 700 individuals, or 0.5% of the workforce, took home at least £1 million.

The Lucky Ones. Employees in the investment bank populated the group, estimated by analysts at between 600 and 700 employees.  Despite the potential to bring the controversial issue of bankers' pays, Chairman Sir David Walker is dead set on repairing Barclays' battered image and to improve its disclosure to investors and the wider public.

To date, Sir David alongside CEO Antony Jenkins – both successors to senior officials who "lost their heads" following the Libor scandal – has cut 2012 bonus pool for its investment bankers by 15% to £1.3 billion.  By offering a breakdown of its employees' salaries, it will exceed European banks' requirement to reveal the salaries of their code staff (ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand depending on regulators' definition in each country), which are vaguely defined as key managers and takers of risk.  For his part, Mr. Jenkins opted to forego his bonus for last year, amid the various scandals facing Barclays at the time.

For further details, go to [CNBC, 2/27/13].