Barclays was considering expanding its exchange-traded note offering as asset managers, hedge funds and wealth managers were showing greater interest in European market volatility ETNs. The interest spiked during volatile markets as end-users began to recognize volatility as a separate asset class. [The firm recently revealed it was preparing to offer its VSXX product, an exchange-traded fund based on the Vstoxx to U.S. based investors. The ETF is not currently in a tradable format, with regulatory approval to sell it in the U.S. pending.]