Barclays fires CEO Antony Jenkins

Barclays have announced the departure of Antony Jenkins as Chief Executive after Non-Executive Directors said that "a new set of skills were required for the period ahead".

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
8th July 2015
Barclays branch

John McFarlane will be appointed Executive Chairman from 17 July when he retires from FirstGroup, until a permanent successor is appointed.

The Non-Executive Directors led by Sir Michael Rake, Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director, said in a statement that new leadership was required to accelerate the pace of execution going forward.

The Board said that it recognised the contribution made by Antony Jenkins as Chief Executive over the past three years in "incredibly difficult circumstances" for the Group, and is extremely grateful to him in bringing the company to a much stronger position. It added that "the situation he inherited would have challenged anyone facing the same issues".

In May, the FCA imposed a record fine of £284,432,000 on Barclays for failing to control business practices in its foreign exchange business in London. Until 15 October 2013, Barclays’ systems and controls over its FX business were inadequate, according to the FCA.

Sir Michael Rake commented:

“I reflected long and hard on the issue of Group leadership and discussed this with each of the Non-Executive Directors. Notwithstanding Antony’s significant achievements, it became clear to all of us that a new set of skills were required for the period ahead. This does not take away from our appreciation of Antony’s contribution at a critical time for the company.”

John McFarlane said:

“Whilst it is unfortunate that I have had little time to work with Antony, I respect and endorse the position of the Board in deciding that a change in leadership is required at this time. I would add my personal thanks for everything that Antony has done for us. He can be proud of his heritage, especially his excellent work on culture and values that we will continue. I wish him well.

“Arriving at Barclays with a fresh perspective, it is evident that we have a standout brand with first-class retail, commercial and investment banking businesses. Nevertheless, we are leaving value on the table and a new approach is required. As a Group, if we aspire to bring shareholder returns forward, we need to be much more focused on what is attractive, what we are good at, and where we are good at it.

“We therefore need to improve revenue, costs and capital performance. We also need to become more externally focused and deal with the internal bureaucracy by becoming leaner and more agile."

Antony Jenkins said:

“In the summer of 2012, I became Group Chief Executive at a particularly difficult time for Barclays. It is easy to forget just how bad things were three years ago both for our industry and even more so for us. I am very proud of the significant progress we have made since then. Our capital position is much stronger, our business model is more balanced, we are much more disciplined on cost management, we have made good progress in rebuilding our reputation and we are seen as a leader in the application of technology to our business. While the external environment has continued to be, and will remain, challenging the Group now has the resilience to overcome these challenges.

“Most of all, I am proud that we have defined our culture through a common set of values for the Group and that the progress we have made and the tough decisions we have needed to take have all been achieved by applying these values and by focusing on the needs of all our stakeholders."

More like this
Latest from Property Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 30,000 intermediaries and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.