In June 2009, top Barclays executive Bob Diamond laid out an ambitious plan for the venerable British bank "to be the premier global investment bank," a goal he hoped to achieve "over the next couple of years."

More than three years after Barclays absorbed Lehman Brothers' North American operations in a cut price deal that represented a critical moment of the financial crisis, Barclays has yet to achieve the lofty goals set out by Diamond, now the bank's chief executive.