Director Shareholding

Barclays PLC
27 March 2001
                                                                 27 March 2001



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


ESAS Release

The independent trustee of the Barclays Group (ESAS) Employees' Benefit Trust,
(the 'trust') notified the company on 26 March 2001 that it had on 23 March
2001 exercised its discretion and released 875,140 ordinary shares in Barclays
PLC to participants in the Executive Share Award Scheme ('ESAS').  The shares
were released following provisional allocations made by the trustee over
Barclays PLC ordinary shares on 20 March 1995, 22 March 1996 and 1 March 1997
to participants in the ESAS.  Of these shares, the following were released to
directors of Barclays PLC:


Director     Shares    Shares sold on behalf of directors to meet    Shares
          released to    tax liability at a price of £18.83 per   retained by
            director                 ordinary share                 director


Mr C J       3,130                       1,252                       1,878
Lendrum
Sir Peter    5,176                       2,071                       3,105
Middleton
Mr J S       7,249                       2,900                       4,349
Varley


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

Following these transactions, the trustees of all the Barclays Group
employees' benefit trusts hold a total of 12,074,038 ordinary shares in
Barclays PLC in which the following directors of Barclays PLC had an interest
as potential beneficiaries:  Sir Peter Middleton, Mr M W Barrett, Sir Andrew
Large, Mr C J Lendrum, Mr J M Stewart and Mr J S Varley.

The revised total share holding for each director who has retained shares
released under the ESAS, following these transactions, is as follows:


Director                Beneficial Holding        Non Beneficial Holding


Mr C J Lendrum          38,125                    -
Sir Peter Middleton     37,638                    1,500
Mr J S Varley           38,212                    -


1998 ESAS Allocations

The independent trustee of the trust also notified the company on 26 March
2001 that it had on 23 March 2001 awarded rights, under the ESAS, which are
immediately exercisable, to directors of Barclays PLC to acquire ordinary
shares in Barclays PLC.   The rights have been granted over a proportion of
the shares which were provisionally allocated by the trustee on 23 March 1998
to participants in the ESAS.  The total exercise price payable on any exercise
is £1.


Director                                Shares Awarded
Mr C J Lendrum                          2,018
Mr J S Varley                           19,582


There has been no change in the number of ordinary shares in Barclays PLC held
by the trustee resulting from the grant of these awards.