A lot is happening in Barclays. Changes are taking place in financial services at a faster pace than ever. We intend to stay at the cutting edge: improving service to our customers. This means better products and more diverse methods of delivery. In the UK, Barclays purchase of The Woolwich, our alliance with Legal & General and the arrangement with the Post Office enhance choice for our customers and the quality of our service. The acquisition of The Woolwich has strengthened our management team and it has been a pleasure to welcome The Woolwich staff and shareholders into the Barclays family. Barclays services 20 million customers around the globe. About a quarter of our profit comes from personal retail banking products sold in the UK. The rest comes from a wide variety of products and services – including cards, wealth management, institutional asset management, business banking and investment banking in over 60 countries around the world. Barclays intends to remain a profitable bank. Our shareholders quite rightly expect it and it is in the interests of the many pensioners in the UK who depend on the performance of companies like us for peace of mind in retirement. We have had a very successful year. That could not have been achieved without the skill and effort of our employees and the leadership of Matt Barrett and his executive team. Our people are also at the forefront of our efforts to support the communities in every continent in which we operate. The Group supplements their efforts both in terms of money and time. In the year 2000 we spent over £26 million on community and charitable donations. As our profits improve so will this support. Within this Annual Review we have included information about our board and corporate governance which you will, I hope, find useful. Sir Peter Middleton Chairman