|
 Shares in the bank were up 3.2 percent at 260.2 pence by 0845 GMT,
having dropped the previous session to a two-month low.
The surprise ouster comes just three months after John McFarlane
took over as chairman and signaled his intention to speed up its
turnaround plan. McFarlane will assume executive duties until a
permanent successor is appointed.
Independent directors of Barclays had been concerned about Jenkins's
style of leadership for some time and he had spoken to the CEO last
week about his future, McFarlane said on a conference call. His exit
was then confirmed at a board meeting late on Tuesday.
The chairman added that under Jenkins, shareholder value creation
had been pushed "too far into the future". He said the bank was in
no rush to appoint a successor and the most important thing was to
find the right person, adding it would be good to find someone
familiar with investment banking.
Barclays said Jenkins, promoted from head of retail at Barclays in
2012 after the departure of Bob Diamond following a record fine over
the bank's manipulation of benchmark Libor interest rates, would
receive a year's salary of 1.1 million pounds ($1.7 million).
He would also get 950,000 pounds worth of shares, a pension
allowance of 363,000 pounds and other benefits, and will remain
eligible for a pro-rata performance bonus for the current year.
McFarlane, appointed from insurer Aviva having overseen a radical
turnaround there, faces a host of challenges as the British bank
sector grapples with regulatory pressures such as a demand to
separate domestic retail banking operations from riskier investment
banking operations.
The decision to axe the CEO, who had presided over cuts to the
investment banking operations involving hundreds of job losses,
follows a period of lackluster results and uncertainty about the
bank's structure.
INVESTMENT BANK FOCUS
One senior Barclays executive said the move was seen positively by
its investment bankers, noting McFarlane had recently told staff of
his commitment to the business.
"It's the best possible public message that we could have wished
for. He got rid of the guy who was questioning this," said the
executive, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Analysts at brokerage Shore Capital said in a note: "This
announcement was not something that we have expected, but given John
McFarlane's history as a ‘hands-on’ chairman, it is perhaps not a
big surprise.
[to top of second column] |
"If this move does indeed act as a catalyst for an accelerated
improvement in Barclays’ financial performance, then this can only
be a good thing," the note added, repeating a "buy" rating on the
stock.
While lauding Jenkins' role in steering the bank through a period of
rapid change, Deputy Chairman Michael Rake said the board had
decided he did not have the blend of skills required to take the
company forward.
"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," he said in a statement.
"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,"
Rake added.
Candidates to replace Jenkins could include Finance Director Tushar
Morzaria, appointed in July 2013 having been chief financial officer
of JP Morgan Chase’s corporate and investment banking division.
Morzaria has struck up a strong relationship with McFarlane since he
took up the position of chairman, according to industry sources,
having more of a rapport with the 68-year-old Scot than Jenkins.
Another internal candidate could be Jonathan Moulds, the former Bank
of America Merrill Lynch executive who was appointed to the newly
created role of chief operating officer in January.
(Editing by Sinead Cruise and David Holmes)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
