Barclays finds ‘right man for the job’

London - Barclays named former JPMorgan Chase & Company senior banker Jes Staley as chief executive officer as Britain’s second-largest lender seeks to boost returns battered by rising legal costs.

Staley, 58, will take over on December 1, the London-based bank said in a statement on Wednesday. At the peak of his 34-year career at the company, which included roles running JPMorgan’s asset-management and investment-bank units, he was seen as a candidate to succeed Jamie Dimon in the top job.

“In Jes Staley, we believe we have an executive with the appropriate leadership talent and wide-ranging experience to deliver shareholder value and to take the group forward strategically,” Chairman John McFarlane said in the statement. “In particular, he understands corporate and investment banking well, the re-positioning of which is one of our major priorities.”

The appointment comes three months after McFarlane fired Antony Jenkins as CEO after growing frustrated with the pace of change at what he called a “cumbersome and bureaucratic” lender. He has since pledged to press on with cost cuts and double the share price within three to four years, even as the bank faces rising costs for misconduct and tougher capital requirements.

Higher pay

Staley will be paid 2.75 million pounds a year, according to a Barclays spokesman. He’ll earn a 1.2 million-pound basic salary, 1.15 million pounds of role-based- pay and receive a 396 000-pound pension. That’s about 14 percent more than his predecessor Jenkins, a former retail banker.

Barclays must “continue the focus on shareholder returns which John McFarlane has mandated”, Staley said in the statement. “Barclays is a very valuable franchise: from its retail and commercial banking presence in the UK, its strength in cards and payments, its strong position in Africa, to its investment bank.”

Staley will become the second former head of JPMorgan’s investment bank to take the helm of a British lender this year. Bill Winters, who led the unit before Staley, became CEO of Standard Chartered in June.

McFarlane has described Staley as “a client guy” who wasn’t a trader, but managed JPMorgan’s investment bank and has a background in commercial banking.

“This is a huge, complex, and challenging role, leading one of the largest and most important financial institutions in the world,” Michael Rake, who leads the board’s nomination committee, said in the statement. “We are unanimous in our view that Jes Staley is the right man for that role, we wish him every success, and he will have our full support.”

Barclays shares have increased about 3 percent this year.

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