Creditor's Payment Policy

Barclays policy follows the DTI’s Better Payment Policy, copies of which can be obtained from the Better Payment Group’s website.

The Code states that a company should have a clear, consistent policy, adhered to by the finance and purchasing departments, that payment terms are agreed at the outset and payment procedures explained to suppliers, that bills are settled in accordance with payment terms agreed with suppliers, that complaints are dealt with quickly and that suppliers are advised of disputes.

Barclays values its suppliers and acknowledges the importance of paying invoices, especially those of small businesses, promptly. Normal policy is to pay all small business invoices within 30 days.

Creditor payment days are carefully monitored in the Group, using the systems which record the actual purchases and payments.

Barclays estimates that for all UK supplies to Barclays Bank PLC, average creditor payment days in 2002 were 31 days. Paragraph 12(3) of Schedule 7 to the Companies Act 1985 requires disclosure of trade creditor payment days.

Disclosure is required by the company, rather than the Group.

The Group’s principal trading subsidiary in the UK is Barclays Bank PLC, the accounts for which are prepared under Schedule 9 of the Companies Act 1985.

The components for the trade creditor calculation are not easily identified in Schedule 9.

However, by identifying as closely as possible the components required by the Schedule, the trade creditor payment days for Barclays Bank PLC for 2002 were 28 days (2001: 31 days).

This is an arithmetical calculation which includes property rentals and payments, and does not necessarily reflect our practice, which is described above, nor the experience of any individual creditor.