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Highlights
- Banking firm Barclays shares fell after CEO, Jes Staley stepped down after FCA and PRA’s preliminary conclusions over his links in the Epstein probe were revealed.
- Jes Staley will be replaced by C.S. Venkatakrishnan, head of global markets, effective immediately, subject to approvals.
British banking major Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) shares fell over 3 per cent on Monday after the group’s CEO, Jes Staley, announced to step down after he was found to have ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The company said the group’s head of global markets, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, is set to take over as CEO with immediate effect, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.
Barclays PLC’s (LON: BARC) share price performance
Barclays’ share was down by 3.15 per cent to GBX 195.88 on 1 November at 08:03 AM BST. The FTSE 100 index, which it is a part of, was trading at 7,266.74, up by 0.40 per cent.
Comparatively, the banking sectoral index was at 3,105.01, down by 0.04 per cent.
(Image source: Refinitiv)
The company’s market cap was at £34,016.56 million, and its one-year return is 86.62 per cent as of 1 November.
Barclays’ CEO shuffle
On 29 October, the group and Jes Staley were informed about the preliminary conclusions from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulatory Authority's (PRA) investigation about characterisation of Mr Staley and his relationship with Mr Epstein.
It was mutually agreed to let Mr. Staley step down as Barclays’ CEO and director of the Board, due to his plans to contest the preliminary conclusions.
The bank also added that the probe did not have any findings showing that Mr Staley had seen or was aware of Mr Epstein's alleged crimes.
Jeff Epstein had been arrested over alleged child sex trafficking crimes in July 2019 and had subsequently committed suicide a month later while awaiting trial.
In 2020, the company had said that the FCA and PRA were inquiring into the links between Mr Staley and Mr Epstein. Also, Staley had said that his relationship with Epstein had ended in late 2015. He had also said later that he regretted having any relationship with Epstein.
The group’s board said that the succession planning for a CEO had been going on for some time. The board had previously reviewed some external candidates as well, prior to deciding on Venkatakrishnan’s candidature more than a year ago.
Venkatakrishnan, also known as Venkat, had joined Barclays in 2016. Before this, he had held several senior positions across asset management and investment banking divisions at global investment bank JP Morgan Chase, which he had joined in 1994.
