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By Sinead Cruise
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Sherborne Investors
said on Thursday it would withhold its vote against Barclays
Chief Executive Jes Staley in the lender's upcoming
general meeting, to prevent fresh boardroom turmoil as the bank
grapples with the COVID 19 fallout.
The rebel shareholder said it still believed Staley "to be
unsuitable to continue" as a director of the bank but it had
chosen "with great reluctance" not to vote against him in
recognition of the "complexity of the management situation"
presented by the pandemic.
"It can be tempting, especially during a crisis, to
compromise ethical or moral standards on the basis that 'the
trains must run on time'", Sherborne said.
"Under the Stewardship Code, institutional shareholders
should publicly disclose their rationale for voting decisions,
and we believe that a 'withhold' vote would, in the current
circumstances, stand up to any reasonable scrutiny."
Sherborne, which controls a 5.45% stake in the bank and is
its third-largest investor, also called on the board to announce
an orderly succession timetable for Staley.
It said ongoing regulatory probes into his relationship with
U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein and historic misdeeds including
the attempted unveiling of a whistleblower had tainted Barclays
by association.
Barclays, which is due to hold its AGM on May 7, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Sinead Cruise; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
