Yahoo Finance Black banker claims he was labelled ‘aggressive’ in Barclays race discrimination case
Barclays has been called racist by three bankers who allege they were portrayed as "aggressive" and "inconsistent" by colleagues.
Two investment bankers have said they were subjected to racist behaviour after they raised allegations of misconduct at Barclays.
Christian Abanda Bella said he was labelled "aggressive" in performance reviews after he blew the whistle on a colleague's bid to "sabotage" regulatory processes, Bloomberg reported. Mr Abanda Bella alleges the behaviour was linked to his race.
Barclays' lawyers have argued Mr Abanda Bella had made the claims because he was unable to "take on board constructive criticism".
Mr Abanda Bella's colleague has raised a similar complaint about how he was treated after he expressed concerns about his team's project. Louis Philippe Samnick alleges he was denied a promotion due to his Cameroonian background and was portrayed as a "troublemaker" by colleagues for raising issues about the team's work.
Barclays has said Mr Samnick was an "inconsistent performer requiring management".
A third banker in the risk division has also sued Barclays for racial discrimination and diability discrimination. Henry-Serge Moune Nkeng alleges bankers mistreated him after he suffered a leg injury and had to take time off work.
Barclays has denied all of the allegations from the three men and asked the judge to dismiss the claims because they have been brought too late to be considered.
The three claims are being heard together at the London employment tribunal and a judge will soon decide whether the cases will continue to a full hearing.
Barclays declined to comment.
The issue of racial discrimination in the banking sector was highlighted by a case at BNP Paribas revealed by The Telegraph in January. The French bank refused to remove a senior lawyer who referred to an Asian colleague as "Hu She".
Benedict Foster, head of legal for debt and equity at BNP Paribas in London, referred to the woman as "Hu She" in a series of emails but only received a minor sanction.
BNP Paribas denied that his comments were racially motivated. But the lawyer left the bank months later following complaints from staff who said the penalty was "a sham and a farce".
