Barclays chairman Sir David Walker defended the bank ’ s decision to pay out £1.86billion in bonuses . Furious Barclays shareholders vented frustration at the generous pay packages handed to hundreds of its top traders yesterday – with one investor asking : ‘ What has their “ talent ” ever done for us ? ’ The scandal-hit lender faced a barrage of criticism from long-suffering investors , many of them pensioners , at its annual general meeting in London . Shareholders are reeling from big losses in their investments and pension funds as Barclays ’ share price has plunged since the financial crisis . Last year its profits dropped again by 21 per cent to £2.3billion after it was hit by huge bills for wrongdoing . But yesterday chairman Sir David Walker defended the bank ’ s decision to pay out £1.86billion in bonuses , including packages of more than £1million to 359 employees . Group chief executive Antony Jenkins saw his pay package more than triple to £5.5million , after opting to accept a £1.1million bonus . Facing criticism over the pay package , Sir David claimed the bank needed to pay ‘ competitively ’ to attract the best talent . But the argument received short shrift from investors who have seen Barclays fork out billions for various scandals while the share price has fallen from £7 to just under £2.60 . During the height of the financial crisis in 2009 they fell to 47p , leaving many savers who sold their shares with huge losses . Shareholder Phil Clarke said : ‘ Employees should share the wealth created by great companies . My problem is what happens when there is no success – and there is limited success in this company. ’ Referring to Monty Python ’ s ‘ what have the Romans ever done for us ’ sketch , Mr Clarke said : ‘ I ’ d like to paraphrase Monty Python and ask what has all this “ talent ” done for us ? ‘ The answer is this talent has made losses for shareholders , destroyed value and dragged our reputation through the mud to the extent that banker has become a dirty word . Yet these people have enjoyed massive salaries and we ’ ve paid for it. ’ At the meeting , Barclays ’ bosses referred repeatedly to the moral values of the bank ’ s Quaker founders , with chairman Sir David describing how they ‘ relied on their own hard work , pioneering spirit and moral code to become trusted figures in their communities ’ . Huge bonuses : Group chief executive Antony Jenkins saw his pay package more than triple to £5.5million , after accepting a £1.1million bonus . Sir David said the bank had to pay ‘ competitively ’ to attract the best talent . Billion pound bill : Barclays is currently waiting for a huge fine for manipulating the £3trillion-a-day foreign exchange market , and has set aside almost £1.3billion so far for the scandal . Rogue traders in London orchestrated a worldwide conspiracy to rig interest rates , landing Germany ’ s biggest bank with a record £1.7billion fine . Several banks have already been penalised after traders were caught manipulating Libor interest rates , which are used to set the cost of mortgages and are linked to trillions of dollars of investments around the world . So far total fines against banks including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have hit £5.6billion . But the latest settlement dwarfs the £1billion levied against UBS in 2012 , which was previously the biggest fine issued for rigging Libor rates . At least 29 employees were involved in the wrongdoing , which lasted between January 2005 and December 2010 . Most of the rogue staff were based in London , but they also worked in Frankfurt , Toyko and New York – showing the global nature of the conspiracy . So far just 12 of the people involved in rate-rigging have been sacked , but US regulators have now ordered Deutsche Bank to fire another seven staff , including six senior employees in London . Richard Lloyd , executive director at consumer group Which ? , said : ‘ Rigged markets will ultimately hit people in the pocket , so the regulator must continue to take tough action. ’ Jurgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain , co-chief executive officers of Deutsche Bank , said : ‘ The Bank accepts the findings of the regulators . We deeply regret this matter but are pleased to have resolved it. ’ But the comments incensed one pensioner – who pointed to the ‘ criminal ’ behaviour of Barclays in the 21st century . Barclays is currently waiting for a huge fine for manipulating the £3trillion-a-day foreign exchange market , and has set aside almost £1.3billion so far for the scandal . Last year it was also forced to set aside £1.1billion for mis-selling payment protection insurance , taking its total bill so far to £5.2billion . Michael Mason–Mahon said : ‘ The men who started it were honourable . But you seem to have lost your way. ’ He added : ‘ Our society can not longer cope with bankers that are hell-bent on criminal acts , leaving shareholders to pick up the tab . ’
Barclays are supported by generous payment packages for top traders . Investors reeling as bank 's asset price has plunged since financial crisis . banks has also been hit by huge bills for loans , with another coming . Chairman Sir David Walker will pay out of £ ##500 in bonuses .