Barclays looks to be gearing up for a major push in wealth management after management changes were announced last Friday. Bob Diamond, ...

Barclays looks to be gearing up for a major push in wealth management after management changes were announced last Friday. Bob Diamond, president of Barclays, and the man increasingly pulling the strings at the British bank, handed over one of his roles, that of wealth management, to Thomas Kalaris. Mr Kalaris joins from Barclays Capital, where he served on the executive committee. His investment banking background and his close ties with Barclays Capital are likely to ensure greater links between Barclays' extensive wealth management business and its investment bank. According to a report in the Financial Times, Mr Diamond said he had spent several months studying the private banking business and concluded it was ripe for expansion. He added that clients would benefit from being offered products developed by Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors, the bank's fund management arm. Insiders say the wealth management unit is currently looking to hire a number of senior managers, including someone to develop the brand, which some observers say is in much need of a revamp since the acquisition of the private client stock broker, Gerrard. Mr Kalaris will head a group which includes the private and international banks, Barclays Stockbrokers, and Barclays Financial Planning. Mike Pedersen, the managing director of the private bank, is expected to be the number two in the new hierarchy, although insiders say that his performance might come under the spotlight.