At the end of 2011, Barclays' net assets stood at $2.42 trillion, making the bank the seventh largest in the world. While this may seem like a great achievement, its stock price has been quite volatile in recent years. Because of this apparent contradiction between a company that appears to be very successful and at the same time a poorly performing stock, many people are wondering why Barclay shares are falling so noticeably. As is the case with many stock devaluation cases, the answer is complicated. One reason for the latest drop is that the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit against Barclays. This lawsuit alleges that Barclays committed fraudulent practices, including falsifying key documentation and misrepresenting benefits the company offered to its major institutional clients. The lawsuit was the result of scrutiny over the company's use of a type of trading called "dark pool" trading. This happens when clients trade large amounts of shares privately, with non-transparent prices and costs. Barclays has attempted to avoid bad repercussions from these allegations by conducting its own internal investigation into the practice and hopefully making it more open to any public.