Auditors’ reports

	UK audit report to the members of Barclays PLC
	We have audited the accounts which comprise the Profit and Loss account, the Balance sheet, the Cash Flow statement, the Statement of Total Reconised Gains and Losses, the related notes and the accounting policies set out in the summary of significant accounting policices. The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of certain fixed assets, and the accounting policies.
	Respective responsibilities of Directors and Auditors
	The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual report and accounts. This includes responsibility for preparing the accounts in accordance with applicable UK accounting standards. Our responsibility is to audit the accounts in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, UK Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practises Board and the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. We report to you our opinion as to whether the accounts give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the UK Companies Act 1985. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Directors’ report is not consistent with the accounts, if the Company or Group has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law or the Listing Rules regarding Directors’ remuneration and transactions is not disclosed. We read the other information contained in the Annual Report and consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the accounts. We review whether the statement Corporate governance reflects the Company’s and Group’s compliance with the seven provisions of the Combined Code specified for our review by the Financial Services Authority, and we report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the Board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and controls, or to form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s or Group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures. The maintenance and integrity of the Barclays PLC website is the responsibility of the directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website.
	Basis of audit opinion
	We conducted our audit in accordance with UK Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the accounts. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the Directors in the preparation of the accounts, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Company’s and Group’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed. We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion, we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the accounts.
	Opinion
	In our opinion, the accounts give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and the Group at 31st December 2000 and of the profit of the Company and of the profit and cash flows of the Group for the year then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with the UK Companies Act 1985.
	PricewaterhouseCoopers
	Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors London, England, 7th February 2001
	US audit report to the Boards of Directors and shareholders of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC
	We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Barclays PLC and its subsidiary undertakings and Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiary undertakings which comprise the Profit and Loss account, the Balance sheet, the Cash Flow statement, the Statement of Total Reconised Gains and Losses, the related notes and the accounting policies set out in the summary of significant accounting policices. These financial statements are the responsibility of the management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall accounts presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements audited by us present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Barclays PLC and its subsidiary undertakings and Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiary undertakings at 31st December 2000 and 1999, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended 31st December 2000, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the UK. Accounting principles generally accepted in the UK vary in certain significant respects from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The application of the latter would have affected the determination of consolidated net income for each of the three years in the period ended 31st December 2000 and the determination of the consolidated shareholders’ equity at 31st December 2000 and 1999 to the extent summarised in note 61and note h to the consolidated financial statements.
	PricewaterhouseCoopers
	Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors London, England, 7th February 2001.