Directors' Interests

Barclays PLC
29 May 2001


                                                                   29 May 2001

        Notification of directors' interests: Companies Act 1985 s.329

1.   The independent trustee of the Barclays Group (ESAS) Employees' Benefit
Trust, (the 'trust') notified the company on 29 May 2001 that it had on 25 May
2001 exercised its discretion and released 1,435 ordinary shares in Barclays
PLC to a participant in the Executive Share Award Scheme ('ESAS').


The ESAS trust is a discretionary trust for the benefit of employees and
former employees (and their families) of Barclays Bank PLC and its
subsidiaries.

None of these shares were transferred to a director of Barclays PLC.

Following these transactions, the trustees of all the Barclays Group
employees' benefit trusts hold a total of 9,517,719 ordinary shares in
Barclays PLC.  Sir Peter Middleton, Mr M W Barrett, Sir Andrew Large, Mr C J
Lendrum, Mr J M Stewart and Mr J S Varley, Directors of Barclays PLC, are
amongst the potential beneficiaries under these trusts and are therefore
regarded for Companies Act purposes as being interested in the Barclays PLC
ordinary shares held in them.


2.  The trustees of the Barclays Qualifying Employee Share Ownership Trust
(the 'Quest') notified the Company on 25 May 2001 that they subscribed for a
total of 24,777 Barclays PLC ordinary shares on 25 May 2001 at a price of
2177p per share.  Following this transaction, the trustees of the Quest held a
total of 24,777 Barclays PLC ordinary shares in which the following directors
of Barclays PLC had an interest as potential beneficiaries: Sir Peter
Middleton, Mr M W Barrett, Mr C J Lendrum, Mr J M Stewart and Mr J S Varley.
(The Quest is a trust which distributes shares to employees of the Barclays
Group on the exercise of options granted under the Barclays PLC 1991 SAYE
Share Option Scheme, the Barclays Group SAYE Share Option Scheme and the
Woolwich plc Sharesave Scheme (the 'Schemes').)

The trustees of the Quest also notified the Company on 25 May 2001 that they
had transferred 24,777 Barclays PLC ordinary shares on 25 May 2001 to
participants in the Schemes following the exercise of their options.
Following this transaction, each of the directors listed above ceased to have
an interest in such shares.