A high-risk bond with a credit rating that is below investment grade. Also known as a’ junk’ bond, a term meant often used pejoratively to suggest its potential lack of worth.

Human Resources

The Human Resources (HR) function provides critical support and advice to line management. The attraction, retention and development of high calibre people is a source of competitive advantage for our business, and is the responsibility of HR.

Institutional Investors

These large investors that buy and sell stocks and bonds in large volumes include mutual funds, banks, insurance companies, pension funds and others.

Internships

Internships are for 10-12 weeks, usually over the summer and are available to candidates in their penultimate (next to last) year of study.

Investment Banking and Debt Capital Markets

Investment Banking and Debt Capital Markets is responsible for providing multi-product solutions for clients seeking to raise capital or issue debt, and generating new business with prospective and existing clients.

Investment Grade

Bonds that are of a high level of credit quality. A bond rated BBB or above by Standard & Poors and rated Baa by the Moody's credit rating agency would qualify as investment grade.

Legal

The principal purpose of Legal is to ensure that Barclays Capital’s business is conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Leveraged Funds

Specialist funds that take positions in equities, FX and interest rates. Typically highly leveraged.

Market Risk

Market Risk is the risk of price changes in the market for traded instruments and evaluates the potential impact of the market moving against the bank (a tradable instrument is anything that can be bought or sold, ranging from stocks and bonds to complex options and derivatives).

Medium-Term Notes

A flexible facility to issue notes of varying maturity, varying currency and either fixed or floating - all within one set of legal documentation.

Mezzanine Finance

Finance that is usually provided by specialist financial institutions that is neither pure equity nor pure debt. It can take many different forms and can be secured or unsecured; it usually earns a higher rate of return than pure debt but less than equity. Conversely, it carries a higher risk then pure debt, but less than equity.

Nostro

A bank’s bank account with another financial institution. Used to settle all transactions in a particular currency. Works in a similar fashion to a personal bank account.

Operations

Operations coordinate and streamline all business processes that underpin the smooth running of the bank. It ensures that all trades are settled quickly and efficiently, provides effective cash management, full reconciliation of both trades and cash, and ensures the integrity of the balance sheet. It is also responsible for the global integrity of client data as well as full compliance monitoring of all transactions.

Options

The right but not the obligation to buy/sell equities, bonds, foreign exchange or interest rate contracts by a future date at a price agreed now. 'Traded options' means the options themselves can be bought and sold.

Portfolio Management

The strategic portfolio of Barclays Capital is a global fixed income portfolio, and is a significant contributor to the revenues of the Global Markets division. The portfolio invests in government securities, bank paper and derivatives of the most developed fixed-income markets.

Primary Capital Markets

The market into which a new issue of bonds, or any other form of medium-or long-term money-market paper, is launched.

Prime Brokerage

The Prime Brokerage service is aimed at leveraged and hedge funds providing fully integrated equity, futures, fixed income, foreign exchange execution and clearing products. It also includes custody of assets, consolidated position reporting, access to scarce equity and fixed income securities, competitive margin, collateral and financing terms.

Private Equity

One of the four main Business Areas of Barclays Capital, Private Equity involves the provision of equity finance to young, unquoted businesses that require help starting out or that want to expand. This is done through the provision of tailor-made financing packages that meet the needs of investee companies attracted by this type of risk.

Quantitative Associate

An applicant/hire who is studying for a PhD or equivalent degree in a highly quantitative discipline (e.g. Maths, Life Sciences, Engineering, Financial Economics) without any significant work experience.

Repo

Sale and Repurchase Agreements. These are agreements to sell bonds with a simultaneous agreement to repurchase these bonds back at a later date, typically less than one year. A repo effectively enables the holder of a bond to borrow money while using the bond as collateral with the lender.

Research

Research is responsible for analysing the economic, political and technical factors influencing the markets, supporting both the salespeople and traders, as well as their own direct client relationships.

Risk Finance

Provides the business with a key means of structuring, re-packaging and distributing more structured debt and complex asset pools. A variety of techniques and products are used to help credit risk, finance and portfolio management deliver profitable solutions. These include the use of complex credit derivatives, hedging techniques, and increased interaction with different product areas like securitisation, where separating risk from credit quality is vital.

Sales

Salespeople are responsible for building and maintaining client relationships, as well as providing clients with information about products and services, and marketing information to help manage risk. The firm’s salesforce is fundamental to our client-driven business model. Sales delivers the services of the firm to the client and also delivers the client’s business to the firm.

Secondary Market

A market that provides for the purchase or sale of previously issued securities or financial products. The general name given to stock exchanges and other market places in which stocks, bonds, mortgages and other investments are sold after they have been issued and sold initially.

Securitisation

A key product area and an important financing technique used to convert cash generating assets into marketable securities for sale to investors. The objective of securitisation is to separate business risk from the risk of sold assets. This enables investors to assess the credit quality and the cash flow of the pool of assets rather than looking to the business risk.

Solution Sales

This is a description of the area that encompasses corporate sales activities with the addition of tailored investment opportunities

Strategy and Planning

Barclays Capital constantly reviews its strategic options, competitive environment and set of capabilities. Strategy & Planning supports the senior leadership of the firm in developing and implementing the firm's strategic plans.

Structuring

Structuring is a division of Global Financing which consists of a group of specialist product teams sub-divided into four product areas: tax, conduits, structured bond issues and asset back securities. As a Business Area, Structuring involves developing new products to meet client requirements using high-level quantitative skills to create sophisticated solutions.

Swaps

Exchange of interest obligations between two parties, either fixed to floating rate, or vice versa, or a given notional period for an agreed time period. Currency swaps exchange interest flows in two currencies, and also include an exchange of principals in the two currencies.

Syndication and Loan Distribution

The activity in credit trading and risk that involves arranging and underwriting syndicated loans for target clients both in the primary markets, where we issue new bonds or loans for clients, and in the secondary markets, where we trade bonds and loans that already exist. We develop coordinated packages of solutions, incorporating loans. Individual and bulk loan sales are executed to facilitate management of the bank's loan portfolios. The liquidity of the structure of our loans is critical in ensuring a high turnover or re-selling of loans, benefiting both borrowers and lenders.

Tax Arbitrage

Trading that takes advantage of a difference in tax rates or tax systems as the basis for profit.

Technology

Technology developers build up the bank's technological capability by developing cutting-edge products. Technology infrastructure specialists support the bank's existing platforms, delivering technology support to users business-wide. The technology team also focuses on Business Areas, working closely with traders to make sure their needs are fulfilled.

Trading

Traders are responsible for buying and selling financial instruments to generate profit. At Barclays Capital traders deal in financial products related to interest rates, foreign exchange, equities and commodities foreign exchange, equities and commodities.

Tranches

A part or instalment, often of a large sum of money. Typically refers to different classes of securities e.g. 'A' Tranche and 'B' Tranche in a securitisation. Can also more generally mean an issue of a certain amount of securities e.g. a £100m "tranche". A part or instalment, often of a large sum of money. Typically refers to different classes of securities e.g. 'A' Tranche and 'B' Tranche in a securitisation. Can also more generally mean an issue of a certain amount of securities e.g. a £100m "tranche".

Underlying