Two top executives from Barclays of the UK became the latest prominent bankers to decide against going to global capitalism's big annual conference, as the financial crisis takes its toll on the major finance houses.

Barclays president Robert Diamond, and Frits Seegers, chief executive of global retail and commercial banking, pulled out of the World Economic Forum's meeting in Davos at the last minute on Tuesday. The news that they will stay home comes one day after Barclays said it was moving up the publication of its 2008 results to February 9 from February 17. The work to get that done required attention in London, according to a person familiar with the situation.