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LONDON (Alliance News) - Barclays PLC Wednesday said its board has taken the decision to replace Chief Executive Antony Jenkins, with John McFarlane, the newly appointed chairman, to act in an executive capacity until a successor is found, as the banking group looks to accelerate its restructuring and improve returns to shareholders.
According to the statement, the non-executive directors led by Michael Rake, who is deputy chairman and senior independent director, concluded that new leadership is required to "accelerate the pace of execution going forward".
Despite ousting Jenkins, Barclays said the news isn't indicative of "any major change" in the group's strategy, which has been focused on cutting non-core assets and reducing its reliance on its investment bank.
"Whilst it is unfortunate that I have had little time to work with Antony, I respect and endorse the position of the board in deciding that a change in leadership is required at this time," McFarlane said in a statement.
McFarlane, who became chairman in April after joining from FTSE 100 Aviva PLC, where he led a big turnaround job, said the group needs 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. I have experienced good results in dealing with these matters elsewhere," McFarlane added.
"Arriving at Barclays with a fresh perspective, it is evident that we have a standout brand with first-class retail, commercial and investment banking businesses. Nevertheless, 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," McFarlane said.
The change will be effective from July 17, when McFarlane retires from transport company FirstGroup PLC. In the meantime, McFarlane will work "particularly closely" with Tushar Morzaria, who succeeded Chris Lucas as finance director in October 2013.
Jenkins said he became chief executive at a "particularly difficult time" for Barclays, succeeding Robert Diamond in the wake of the Libor manipulation scandal, having previously led the Barclaycard payments business and the group's retail and business banking operations.
"It is easy to forget just how bad things were three years ago both for our industry and even more so for us. I am very proud of the significant progress we have made since then," Jenkins said.
Barclays said that the situation inherited by Jenkins "would have challenged anyone facing the same issues".
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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