BarCap faces 2m bonus claim

Barclays Capital is facing a high-court battle with a former banker, Oliver Takacs, after he launched a legal claim alleging he is owed unpaid bonuses worth up to 2m (€2.9m).

Takacs, who worked at UBS before joining the debt-focused investment banking arm of Barclays in 2003, left the UK bank 13 months later, according to the Financial Services Register. He now works at HSBC in London.

Takacs is claiming unpaid bonuses from Barclays, worth at least 1m a year for 2003 and 2004, according to a source familiar with the case and it is set to go to court after a UK judge this month rejected Barclays' application to have Takac's claims struck out. However, the judge struck out one of the two parts of the claims.

Unless Barclays appeals the judge's decision, the case will proceed with a verdict likely in the next 12 to 15 months, according to the source. Barclays declined to comment on the case, as did lawyers for Takacs.