Bermuda.

Barclays Bank, one of the pre-eminent names in private banking and trusts around the world, has applied to form Barclays Private Trust (Bermuda) Ltd.

Trust business has long been an area of specialty for Barclays, as opposed to a sideline, a spokesman said.

It is just the kind of business that the Government had hoped to attract when they first shaped trust legislation to attract new firms. The company joins with other top names such as The Royal Trust (Bermuda) Ltd., Coutts and Co.

(Bermuda) Ltd. and the Swiss firm Lombard Odier (Bermuda) Ltd. and others in building on Bermuda's reputation as an enclave for such business.

Mr. David Cooke of Mello, Hollis Jones and Martin confirmed his law firm was involved in an incorporation of Barclays Private Trust (Bermuda) Limited.

Mr. Cooke said: "Barclays is a premium private banking and trust company.'' Meanwhile, The Bank of Bermuda may have toned down its early objections to the expansion of the Bermuda trust business.

When Government first said it would expand the trust company business to moe local and foreign companies, the bank reacted with concern and published a booklet on the drawbacks. They complained at that time that the move could be detrimental to the Island.

But yesterday, when asked to comment on the current climate, and whether such fears were being realised, the bank's managing director of their wholly-owned subsidiary, Bermuda Trust Company Ltd., Mr. Cummings Zuill, said: "We are perfectly happy with it. Our concern at the time was what it could do to Bermuda and how the Government would handle it.

"They have changed the rules since they started. They said that they would only allow major overseas players in.

"At the time we put out some arguments and we hoped the Government would take our advice. We were concerned that there may be some of these institutions that may not have been as knowledgeable about the business, and who by not understanding it completely, could end up getting Bermuda in trouble.'' Mr. Zuill conceded his company was right now looking for replacement staff for those who were lost to other trust companies. But he said: "We haven't lost any business that we're concerned about.

"We are beefing up our training programmes and taking steps to ensure that we look closely at our business and meet our competition.'' He still is of the opinion that two or three of the companies that have been set up in Bermuda do not meet the criteria that was originally set out by the Finance Ministry.

"That doesn't mean that they are not good companies with honourable people, but the criteria has definitely changed from what it was supposed to be,'' he said.

Already there are about 25 trust companies registered here and Mr. Zuill said more companies are expected to come in the near future.

"I'm positive about the move. They haven't really hurt us and I can't say that it has been beneficial to the bank, but definitely benefical to Bermuda.''