BARCLAYS chief executive Jes Staley is facing regulatory probes and a hefty pay cut after the lender found he tried to identify a whistleblower last year.
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority have launched investigations into the conduct of Mr Staley who breached the bank’s rules on the treatment of whistleblowers.
The investigations will also consider the adequacy of the bank’s systems and controls and culture relating to people who try to bring issues to the attention of management.
Barclays chairman John McFarlane said Mr Staley honestly, but mistakenly believed it was permissible to identify the author of a letter that he believed made an unfair attack on a colleague. Mr Staley continues to have the board’s unanimous confidence.
However, Barclays has decided to issue a formal written reprimand to Mr Staley and to make a “very significant” adjustment to his performance related pay. The amount will be decided when the regulatory reviews are completed.
Mr McFarlane said: “I am personally very disappointed and apologetic that this situation has occurred, particularly as we strive to operate to the highest possible ethical standards. The Board takes Barclays culture and the integrity of its controls extremely seriously.”
Mr Staley may have to wait months for the outcome of the investigations by the regulators, who can impose multi-million pound fines on wrongdoers and bar them from working in the financial services industry.
He said: “I have apologised to the Barclays Board, and accepted its conclusion that my personal actions in this matter were errors on my part ... I will cooperate fully with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority.”
Mr Staley added: “Our whistleblowing process is one of the most important means by which we protect our culture and values at Barclays and I certainly want to ensure that all colleagues, and others who may utilise it, understand the criticality which I attach to it.”
Investors appeared to shrug off news of the investigations yesterday when shares in Barclays quickly recovered the ground they lost in early trading.
However, the fallout from Mr Staley’s action will cause an unwelcome distraction at a time when Barclays is still working to rebuild the trust lost as a result of past conduct failings.
‘Incidents like this do nothing to convince the public that banking misdemeanours are in the rear-view mirror, and this is undoubtedly an embarrassment, not to mention a distraction, for Barclays and its CEO,”said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
A former investment banker, Mr Staley joined Barclays in December 2015. His contract entitles him to performance related remuneration of up to around £4.5m this year.
The attempt to uncover the whistleblower’s identity was ultimately unsuccessful.
Barclays employs around 2,400 people in Scotland.
Many of these work in the shared services support centre the bank operates in Glasgow.
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