Barclays, Base Prospectus 2006
Barclays, Base Prospectus 2006
Barclays, Base Prospectus 2006
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Additional Information<br />
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The ordinary shares and other securities of <strong>Barclays</strong> PLC, the ultimate holding company of the Issuer,<br />
are admitted to the official list of the Financial Services Authority as competent authority under the<br />
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and are admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange<br />
plc’s market for listed securities.<br />
The Issuer is subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and in accordance<br />
therewith files reports and other information with the United States Securities and Exchange<br />
Commission (the "Commission"). Such reports and other information can be inspected and copied at<br />
the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington,<br />
D.C. 20594 and at the Commission’s regional offices in New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois.<br />
Auditors and Auditing of Historical Financial Information<br />
The annual consolidated accounts of the Issuer and its subsidiaries for the two years ended 31st<br />
December, 2005 and 31st December, 2004 have been audited without qualification by<br />
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, chartered accountants and registered auditors (authorised and regulated<br />
by the Financial Services Authority for designated investment business). PricewaterhouseCoopers is a<br />
member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland and has<br />
its business address at Southwark Towers 32, London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SY, England. The<br />
statutory accounts of the Issuer for the three years ended 31st December, 2005, which contain<br />
unqualified audit reports without any statement under section 237(2) or (3) of that Act, have been<br />
delivered to the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales in accordance with section 242 of the<br />
Act. The report of the auditors of the Issuer for each such year contained the following statement: "This<br />
report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in<br />
accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985, and for no other purpose. We do not, in<br />
giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to<br />
whom this report is shown or to whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior<br />
consent in writing". Documents incorporated by reference may be obtained free of charge at the offices<br />
of <strong>Barclays</strong> Bank PLC Frankfurt Branch at Bockenheimer Landstrasse 38 - 40, 60323 Frankfurt am<br />
Main, during normal business hours, so long as any of the Notes are outstanding<br />
Litigation<br />
Proceedings, including a class action, have been brought in the United States against a number of<br />
defendants, including the Issuer, following the collapse of Enron. In each case, the claims are against<br />
groups of defendants. The Issuer considers that the claims against it are without merit and is defending<br />
them vigorously. The trial of the class action claims relating to Enron is currently scheduled to begin in<br />
October <strong>2006</strong>. A court-ordered mediation commenced in September 2003 but no material progress has<br />
been made towards a resolution of the litigation, although certain other defendants have reached<br />
settlements. In addition, in respect of investigations relating to Enron, the Issuer is continuing to<br />
provide information in response to enquiries by regulatory and governmental authorities in the United<br />
States and elsewhere. It is not possible to estimate the Issuer’s possible loss in relation to these matters,<br />
nor the effect that it might have upon operating results in any particular financial period.<br />
The Issuer has been in negotiations with the staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission with<br />
respect to a settlement of the Commission’s investigation of transactions between the Issuer and Enron.<br />
The Issuer has also been in negotiations in the Enron bankruptcy proceedings. The Issuer does not<br />
expect that the amount of any settlement with the Commission or in the bankruptcy proceedings would<br />
have a significant adverse effect on its financial position or operating results.<br />
The Issuer is engaged in various other litigation proceedings both in the United Kingdom and a number<br />
of overseas jurisdictions, including the United States, involving claims by and against it, which arise in<br />
the ordinary course of business. The Issuer does not expect the ultimate resolution of any of the<br />
proceedings to which it is party to have a significant adverse effect on the financial position of the<br />
Group and the Issuer has not disclosed the contingent liabilities associated with these claims either<br />
because they cannot reasonably be estimated or because such disclosure could be prejudicial to the<br />
conduct of the claims.