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(Changes source; adds details on appointment and background)
By Lawrence Delevingne
Oct 12 (Reuters) - Britain's third largest bank Barclays PLC is close to naming former JPMorgan Chase bankerJes Staley as its new chief executive, a person with knowledgeof the situation said on Monday.
Barclays offered the position to Staley, currently managingpartner of U.S. hedge fund firm BlueMountain Capital Management,and he accepted the offer, according to the person.
A second person familiar with the matter said Staley was ona shortlist of potential successors, but could not confirm theappointment. Any appointment would also still depend on Staleygetting approval from Britain's financial regulators.
The appointment which was first reported by the FT isexpected to be announced in the next two weeks, it said citingtwo people familiar with the matter. (http://on.ft.com/1L8hwt4)
Staley, who was on the shortlist when Barclays looked for aCEO in 2012, had left JPMorgan in early 2013 after 34 years atthe bank to join Blue Mountain Capital. Staley ran JPMorgan'sinvestment bank and asset management business.
Picking Staley could see Barclays put renewed focus on itsinvestment bank, which the bank has been shrinking in the pastthree years in an effort to cut costs and improve profitability.
Previous CEO Antony Jenkins, who was fired in July forlosing the support of non-executive directors in a clash overstyle and the pace of the bank's turnaround, had said the bankhad to reduce the importance of the investment bank after aseries of scandals, while changes in regulation also made manytrading activities unprofitable.
Chairman John McFarlane, who has been running the bank inthe interim since Jenkins' exit, had said earlier in July thatit will look at internal as well as external candidates to makean appointment.
An appointment of Staley would see a second former JPMorganinvestment bank boss running a British bank, after StandardChartered this year picked Bill Winters as its new CEO.
Barclays' finance director Tushar Morzaria is another formerJPMorgan executive, showing the growing influence of the USbank's alumni in London.
Barclays PLC was not immediately available for comment. Anexternal spokesman for BlueMountain declined to comment. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne, Sangameswaran S, AurindomMukherjee and Steve Slater; Editing by Andrew Hay)
