In Brief: Barclays Puts Its Name On U.S. Broker-Dealer

London-based Barclays Bank is retooling its U.S. investment banking division.

Last week it dropped the name of its U.S. broker-dealer, BZW Securities Inc., in favor of the name Barclays Capital. The bank's executives said many people did not associate BZW with Barclays.

Last fall Barclays quit the American equities and mergers and acquisitions business to focus on debt instruments. Now it is refining those goals to offer an integrated menu of credit and interest rate products, including high-yield bonds, syndicated loans, and derivatives, bank executives said.

Also last week Thomas L. Kalaris, who heads Barclays Capital Global Markets in the Americas, was appointed chief executive officer of Barclays Capital. The division will focus particularly on media and telecommunications, utilities, and energy.

Barclays Capital executives said they plan to increase their emphasis on high yield, which is already a significant part of their U.S. operations.

In other news, Barclays appointed Michael Prior head of the New York branch of Barclays Bank. Mr. Prior will report to Mr. Kalaris.

Barclays has $387 billion of assets and a presence in 70 countries.

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