Here's a chance for Barclays staff “let go” for mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) to make amends. The Financial Ombudsman service is so overwhelmed by PPI cases – it continues to receive an “unprecedented” 8,000 to 10,000 complaints a week – that it is looking to hire 50 ombudsmen this year. Might ex-Barclays bankers who are, as the job advert puts it, “ready to look beyond where you are now” think about throwing their hats in the ring? Granted, the salary of a dispute-solver is less than that of a banker – £58,807, “plus excellent benefits”.

But since the ombudsman’s funding arrangements ensure that “the businesses responsible for generating the biggest workload contribute the most to sorting it out”, then Barclays – the biggest PPI complaint generator in the most recent records – would still (effectively) be underwriting the new hires’ salaries. Home from home, in other words...........Read more here