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(Alliance News) - Barclays said Jes Staley has agreed to leave as chief executive following a probe by UK regulators into his description of his relationship with Jeffery Epstein.
The London-based bank said Staley is stepping down as CEO in order to contest probes into his description of his relationship with the disgraced late financier, Jeffery Epstein.
In light of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority's conclusions, and Staley's intention to contest them, he has agreed to part ways with the lender, Barclays said. The bank said it and Staley were made aware of the preliminary conclusions from the FCA and PRA on Friday evening.
Barclays said it was "disappointed" with the outcome, saying Staley has run the company "with real commitment and skill" since 2015.
Barclays added: "It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Staley following the arrest of Epstein in the summer of 2019."
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide while awaiting trial on trafficking charges.
"The regulatory process still has to run its full course and it is not appropriate for Barclays to comment further on the preliminary conclusions," said Barclays.
Staley's successor will be CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, effective from Monday. Barclays said it has had succession planning in hand "for some time" and identified Venkat, head of Global Markets and co-president of Barclays Bank PLC, as its preferred candidate over a year ago.
Barclays shares were down 2.4% early Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 7,255.97
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Hang Seng: down 1.0% at 25,116.72
Nikkei 225: closed up 2.6% at 29,647.08
DJIA: closed up 89.08 points, or 0.3%, at 35,819.56
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 4,605.38
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 0.3% at 15,498.39
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EUR: down at USD1.1553 (USD1.1564)
GBP: down at USD1.3653 (USD1.3697)
USD: up at JPY114.39 (JPY114.02)
GOLD: up at USD1,784.49 per ounce (USD1,778.08)
OIL (Brent): down at USD83.42 a barrel (USD84.27)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
0930 GMT UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index
0945 EDT US manufacturing PMI
1000 EDT US construction spending
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Ireland's manufacturing sector remained in robust health in October, according to survey results from IHS Markit. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index score for last month was 62.1 points, the fifth highest on record and up from September's six-month low of 60.3.
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Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared victory after leading his ruling coalition to a strong majority in national elections. Kishida, a soft-spoken centrist who has been in office for a month, vowed to boost the world's third-biggest economy with a fresh pandemic spending package which he said he would draft this month. He also said Japan would "take a leading role in working towards zero emissions in Asia", a day before he heads to Glasgow for the COP26 summit. The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito won 293 of the 465 seats in parliament's lower house, local media reported while the official result was finalised.
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Japan's manufacturing sector saw its quickest expansion in six months after benefiting from an easing of Covid-19 restrictions in October. The latest headline au Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI increased to 53.2 points from 51.5 in September. October's number was further above the 50.0 neutral mark, suggesting growth quickened. It was the ninth successive improvement in the PMI and the strongest expansion since April. "Renewed rises in both production and new order inflows contributed to a stronger overall rise in conditions as restrictions related to Covid-19 were eased further," IHS Markit said.
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The Chinese manufacturing sector registered a slight expansion in October, though gains were capped by power shortages. October's figure was, however, the strongest expansion in the sector since June, IHS Markit said. The Caixin China general manufacturing PMI came in at 50.6 points in October, improving from September, when it sat at the 50.0 no change mark.
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Some G20 leaders leaving a summit in Rome hailed this year's meeting as a "success," but it was seen by many - including the head of the United Nations, the US and Britain - to have fallen short of expectations on climate change. There was neither a target date for achieving carbon neutrality nor for ending coal-fuelled power generation in the joint declaration following the summit. The target for net zero emissions in the final G20 communique released by the Italian government referred only to achieving this "by or around mid-century". "We will do our utmost to avoid building new unabated coal power generation capacity, taking national circumstances into account, with a view to accelerating the transition away from coal to meet timeframes aligned with the goals of the [2015] Paris Agreement," the statement read. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was unconvinced, writing on Twitter: "While I welcome the G20's recommitment to global solutions, I leave Rome with my hopes unfulfilled - but at least they are not buried." He added: "Onwards to COP26," referring to a major climate summit which opened on Sunday in Glasgow.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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INVESTEC RAISES NATWEST TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 215 (200) PENCE
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EXANE BNP RAISES LLOYDS BANKING TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 62 (58) PENCE
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DEUTSCHE BANK RAISES FEVERTREE DRINKS TO 'BUY' (HOLD) - PRICE TARGET 3,300 (2,250) PENCE
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BARCLAYS CUTS SENIOR TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT') - TARGET 137 (177) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Property developer Land Securities has agreed to buy U&I Group in a deal worth GBP190 million. LandSec has offered 149 pence per U&I share, representing a 73% premium to Friday's closing price of 86p. The deal has been unanimously endorsed by U&I directors, LandSec said. U&I is a London-based mixed-use space regeneration and property specialist. "Landsec set out a strategy in October 2020 to recycle investment in order to drive growth and generate higher returns, including through urban opportunities in London and other major regional cities. The acquisition accelerates that strategy, adding an attractive pipeline of mixed-use urban development opportunities along with complementary skills and expertise," LandSec said. The deal is expected to close next month or early 2022.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Howden Joinery said it has seen strong second-half sales and profitability as pent-up demand and an ability to pass on higher input costs have continued. It now expects full-year pretax profit to be around the top end of current analyst forecasts, putting this range between GBP298 million to GBP360 million. Howdens UK depots' total revenue for the period June 13 to October 30 rose by 21% and by 19% on a same depot basis year-on-year. Compared with 2019, Howdens UK depots' total revenue was up 36%. Exceptional factors, such as pent-up demand, "market leading" product availability, and being able to pass-on higher input costs through selling prices, have continued into the second half, the supplier of kitchens and joinery products said. Howden Joinery added: "The board remains confident in our business model for the future but anticipates returning to a more normalised trading pattern and performance in 2022, which will make the comparators from 2021 challenging."
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Ryanair posted a jump in half-year revenue and in October passenger traffic, as travel restrictions in the UK eased. The Irish low-cost airline carried 11.3 million passengers last month, nearly triple the 4.1 million travellers recorded in October 2020. It also marked an improvement from August 2021's traffic figure of 11.1 million and September at 10.6 million. Late last month, the UK government relaxed travel rules for returning UK holidaymakers who are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people arriving in England from a non-red list country can now use a lateral flow test rather than the more expensive PCR version on or before day two. Further, the UK government on Monday removed the remaining countries on England's red travel list.
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Ryanair also posted a half-year revenue hike and a narrowed loss, as the carrier benefited from a rebound in passenger numbers. In the six months to September 30, revenue rose 83% year-on-year to EUR2.15 billion from EUR1.18 billion. Ryanair's pretax loss narrowed to EUR99.9 million, from EUR432.3 million a year earlier. Two-years ago, the airline booked an interim pretax profit of EUR1.26 billion. Ryanair decided against offering "meaningful" annual guidance. It does, however, expect a net loss of between EUR100 million and EUR200 million. Its net loss in the first half narrowed to EUR47.6 million from EUR410.5 million a year earlier. For financial 2021, it made a net loss of EUR1.02 billion.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
Capital & Regional PLC - GM re capital raising
Electra Private Equity PLC - GM re Hostmore demerger
French Connection Group PLC - GM re takeover by MIP Holdings
Silence Therapeutics PLC - GM re cancellation of admission to trading
Vietnam Holding Ltd - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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