LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc sharesjumped 4 percent on Tuesday after Britain's third biggest bankcame through a "stress test" by regulators better than expected,netting a quick 230,000 pounds for its new chief executive onhis first morning.
Jes Staley, a former head of investment banking at U.S. bankJPMorgan, took over as CEO on Tuesday just as the Bankof England released results of its annual health check of thecountry's seven biggest lenders.
By 1220 GMT shares in Barclays were up 3.8 percent at 232pence, leading gains by all the UK banks as investors reactedpositively to the stress test results.
There had been concern the results would show Barclays maybe stretched during the 2016 stress test, when minimum commonequity capital ratio (CET1) and leverage requirements will rise.
"If all banks were to suffer the same stressed hit toCET1/leverage ratios next year, then they would still pass. Thisis better than we had anticipated, especially for Barclays,"said Citi analyst Andrew Coombs.
For American Staley, it brought in a paper gain on 6.5million pounds of Barclays shares he bought last month. He isnear flat on that bet, after buying the shares at 233p apiece.
Staley said on Tuesday he was joining Barclays with"excitement and optimism for the future."
"We of course have much to do to get the bank where we wantit to be, but I am confident we will get there together," Staleysaid in a brief memo to staff.
He issued a more detailed memo when he was appointed in lateOctober, pledging to complete a restructuring of the investmentbank. That is seen as one of his key early tasks, alongsideseparating its domestic retail bank to meet new UK rules,cutting more costs, and improving culture and standards,investors have said. (Reporting by Steve Slater, editing by David Evans)