Barclays' tax and finance division contains high concentration of people in flip flops

Where should you go if you want to find dressed-down bankers in this heat? Try the finance and tax division at Barclays' investment bank.

An insider tipped us off that Barclays' accountants and tax professionals have been dressing down every day of the week since being given a green light to ditch their suits in May. Barclays declined to comment, but another insider confirmed that this is indeed the case. Two months ago, a memo reportedly went out informing all of the bank's London tax and finance professionals that they were free to wear 'smart professional wear' that reflected 'well on Barclays' business and culture' every day of the week.

The original tipster said this was a prelude to a dress down policy being introduced across the bank. It's unclear why Barclays' finance and tax professionals were targeted for special sartorial leniency.

Separately, here is a mystery finance professional taking maximum advantage of the sun near Bank of America Merrill Lynch's London office today.