A $50 million margin call? I'll short Wall Street.

1:40 PM London time.

Canary Wharf, Barclays headquarters.

Bob Diamond stared at the Bloomberg news flash on the screen, his knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.

UBS pledged to fulfill its contract with Farstar, becoming the first European bank to break its silence.

Damn.

He slammed the printed newsletter onto the table and strode toward John Wally's office at the end of the corridor.

He didn't knock.

Vali was sitting behind his desk, holding the newsletter in his hand.

He looked up and saw the almost suppressed anger on Diamond's face, and sighed.

"I know what you're trying to say, Bob—"

"Now."

Diamond interrupted him, "We must issue a statement now."

Vali took off his glasses and pressed his nose bridge with his thumb and forefinger.

"Bob, we discussed this last weekend—"

"Brown has a good relationship with France. I understand, really. I understand we can't be the first to slap France in the face at this crucial moment in Anglo-French cooperation. I understand Barclays can't make foreign policy decisions for the government."

He walked to Wally's desk and placed his hands on the surface.

"But that was last weekend. It's Monday afternoon now. The U.S. Treasury has intervened, UBS has jumped in. The situation is completely different."

Vali paused for a few seconds, then slowly said, "So you want me to—"

"Yes." Diamond looked him straight in the eye. "I want you to call Downing Street right now. Let them make the decision they'll have to make sooner or later."

Vali leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples again.

As Barclays' CEO, he faced just as much pressure as Diamond over the past weekend.

Diamond had been approaching Sarkozy ever since his speech last Friday about "the systemic attack on Europe by American speculative capital."

At that time, Diamond suggested that Barclays should be the first to stand up and clearly declare the spirit of the contract, and draw a line between himself and Sarkozy's logic of "politics above the contract".

Valley understood Diamond's urgency. Barclays had just acquired Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking business and was ambitiously preparing to enter Wall Street.

What Wall Street values ​​most is the spirit of contract. If Barclays can take the lead in expressing its support at this crucial moment, it will be a perfect pledge of allegiance to Wall Street.

But Vali also knew that things weren't that simple.

Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy have been working closely together over the past few months.

In response to the global financial crisis, Britain and France are pushing for a joint bailout plan and coordinating regulatory policies at the EU level. Last week, Brown also spoke with Sarkozy by phone to discuss the stability of the European banking system.

In this context, if Barclays is the first to jump out and publicly side with the United States, openly contradicting Sarkozy's narrative, it would be more than just a bank's business statement.

That would be interpreted by the world as Britain betraying France and turning to the United States at a crucial moment in Anglo-French cooperation.

Barclays is not qualified to take sides on this diplomatic front for the British government.

So last weekend, Wally suppressed Diamond's proposal.

Then they watched helplessly as the best opportunity slipped away.

Yuanxing issued a statement, seizing the moral high ground. The US Treasury Department followed suit, elevating the matter to the level of a national confrontation. And now, even the Swiss have jumped ship first.

The position left for Barclays is getting worse and worse.

"You're right," Vali finally spoke, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"The situation has indeed changed."

He looked at the UBS newsletter on the table.

"The US Treasury has publicly drawn its line. UBS jumped in. The entire framework of 'contractual spirit against political interference' has been established. Britain can no longer continue to play both sides between the US and France."

"So," Diamond lowered his voice, "it's time for the government to make a decision."

Vali nodded.

"But you have to understand, Bob. If I were to call Downing Street right now, I wouldn't be asking, 'Can Barclays issue a statement?' I would be pushing the British government to make a clear choice between the US and France."

"I know," Diamond said, "but this isn't a question of whether they want to do it or not. It's a question of whether they have to do it. And that 'have to' is right now."

Vali glanced at him, then picked up the phone on the table.

That was a high-level express line that went directly to Downing Street.

Diamond stood aside, listening as Varley recounted Barclay's situation in a restrained and polite tone.

"...Yes, I understand the government's considerations regarding Anglo-French relations. But the current situation is that the US Treasury has made a public statement, and Swiss banks have followed suit. The market and media are forcing Barclays into a position where they must make a statement. We cannot remain silent forever—continued silence will itself be interpreted as a stance, an avoidance of the spirit of contracts."

Valli paused, listening to the response from the other end of the phone.

"...I completely understand. But I must frankly say that for a British bank that has just acquired Lehman Brothers' North American operations and is aggressively expanding in the US market, to be perceived as shirking contractual obligations at this crucial moment...that would be a fatal blow to Barclays' future on Wall Street. You should understand that at this moment, Barclays is not just Barclays; it will be largely seen as the attitude of the City of London."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Then, Vali's expression relaxed slightly.

"...I understand. Thank you. We will be mindful of our words and only discuss principles, without naming anyone."

He hung up the phone and turned to Diamond.

"Green light."

"Downing Street has given the go-ahead," Wally said.

Diamond breathed a sigh of relief.

But in that breath, there was no joy of victory, only a complex feeling of finally letting go after holding it in for so long.

"There are conditions."

Valli continued, "We're only talking about the universal principle of the spirit of contract. We won't name any specific country or individual. We want to give governments enough leeway to make this appear as 'Barclays' independent statement based on commercial principles,' rather than 'Britain's diplomatic betrayal of France.'"

Diamond nodded.

"I see."

He sat down at the conference table, but he knew very well that this belated green light could not undo the missed opportunities.

Last weekend, if it weren't for political concerns regarding Anglo-French relations, and if Barclays had been the first to step forward, they would have occupied the position of "proactively, proudly, and being the first in Europe to raise the banner of the spirit of contract."

That was the most dazzling, the most valuable position. It was the perfect pledge of allegiance to Wall Street.

But now, Farstar has seized the moral high ground. The U.S. Treasury has elevated the matter to the national level. UBS jumped ship first—though in a disgraceful manner, it was at least "the first European bank to break the silence."

By the time it was Barclays' turn, all the good spots were already taken.

"We can't just 'follow' them."

Diamond said slowly, "If we just issue a statement similar to UBS's, then we'll really become 'the second in Europe to jump ship,' which is utterly worthless."

Vali walked over and sat down opposite him.

"So what do you want to do?"

Diamond picked up the UBS statement on the table, which the media had ridiculed as a "surrender," and looked at it for a few seconds.

UBS's statement still discusses its specific transaction with Yuanxing. It uses a hypothetical statement like "if any counterparty disagrees on the interpretation of the contract terms," ​​leaving itself an out and seemingly afraid of offending anyone.

He put down the paper.

"It was forced to jump ship. So its posture was defensive and pathetic. The media labeled it 'the first to surrender.'"

"We can't go down this path. UBS has already taken it, and taken it terribly."

Diamond's thinking raced under the pressure of time. Since he had already lost irretrievably in terms of "speed," the only remedy was to find a new path in terms of "content," to find a position that UBS had not occupied.

"We're not discussing that deal."

He said, "We didn't mention Farstar, or any specific contracts or counterparties. We elevated our statement to a purely values-based level—we weren't defending the fulfillment of a particular transaction, but the principle of 'contractual spirit' itself."

"We want everyone to see that Barclays is not 'the second to jump ship like Switzerland,' but rather a member 'proactively and unequivocally defending the universal value of the spirit of contract.'"

Vali nodded thoughtfully.

"This definitely distinguishes us from UBS. UBS is still talking about deals; we're talking about values. UBS's approach is a defensive surrender; ours is a proactive declaration."

"That's right," Diamond said. "And we can add a line to the statement—a statement that doesn't name names, but clearly states the direction."

He paused.

"We have noticed that some market participants are attempting to attribute normal business losses to market mechanisms or external factors. We believe this approach will not help restore market confidence but will instead exacerbate uncertainty."

Vali raised his eyebrows.

"In this way,"

Diamond continued, "We not only jumped ship, but we also proactively and publicly distanced ourselves from those who wanted to renege on their promises. We were not deserters forced to jump ship; we were those who voluntarily chose to stand on the side of the spirit of the contract."

Vali was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"This aligns with Downing Street's requirements—we only discuss principles, without naming names. At the same time, it does differentiate Barclays from UBS, making our stance appear more proactive and sophisticated."

"That's settled then," Diamond said. "Get the legal and PR teams in, and we'll draft it now. I want to get the statement out before the New York market closes."

Wally stood up and walked toward the door. But he stopped at the door and turned to look at Diamond.

"Bob," he said, his tone tinged with complex emotion, "you know, no matter how beautifully we phrase it, how grandly we adopt..."

He paused.

"The fact that it's 'too late' cannot be changed."

Diamond remained silent for a long time.

Is it my fault that it's late?

"I know," Diamond finally said, his tone calm.

"All we can do is try our best to salvage some dignity in this terrible situation."

"But at least, we can still do this."