LONDON (Alliance News) - Barclays PLC plans to name former JPMorgan investment banker Jes Staley as its new chief executive, The Financial Times reported on Monday.
Citing two people familiar with the matter, and noting that Barclays declined to comment, the FT said Staley's appointment is set to be announced in the next two weeks. The report said the appointment requires approval from regulators.
The FT article followed a Sky News report which said a successor to the ousted Antony Jenkins could be made within weeks.
Chairman John McFarlane, who has been acting in an executive capacity since removing Jenkins in July, told some of the bank's most senior executives last week that he was close to appointing a new chief executive, the Sky News report said, citing insiders.
If Staley is to become chief executive, a former investment banker will lead Barclays at a time when there are big questions about the role of its investment banking division. Under Jenkins, a retail banker, Barclays set about reducing its overall reliance on the division as a source of earnings.
Staley is set to join from hedge fund Blue Mountain Capital, where he is a managing partner. Prior to that, he spent 30 years at JPMorgan, where he was CEO of the group's investment bank and CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management.
The executive's experience in investment banking contrasts with Antony Jenkins' retail banking background.
Jenkins was chief executive of Barclays for almost three years, taking up the role after US investment banker Robert Diamond was forced out by UK regulators in the wake of a GBP290 million fine in 2012 over the bank's role in the Libor benchmark manipulation scandal.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/31fbe252-7122-11e5-9b9e-690fdae72044.html#axzz3oO9Xry6p
http://news.sky.com/story/1568357/barclays-close-to-naming-jenkins-successor
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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