Barclays set to launch CEO search: Report

LONDON • Barclays is preparing to search for a replacement for chief executive Jes Staley, who has told colleagues he expects to leave by the end of next year, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing people briefed on the lender's plans.

Mr Staley, who joined the bank in 2015, could stand down at its annual meeting in May next year, the paper said.

A Barclays spokesman in London declined to comment on the report.

The possible shake-up comes as Britain's financial regulators are probing links between Mr Staley and US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, after FT earlier this month reported on a trove of e-mails between the two.

The Barclays chief is under investigation over his ties to Epstein, his second run-in with British regulators since joining the bank.

In 2018, Mr Staley was fined for his attempts to uncover a whistle-blower. Mr Staley, a former senior banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co, was among a swath of prominent financiers whose ties to Epstein came under the spotlight after his arrest. The authorities are now probing how Mr Staley characterised his relationship with Epstein, the bank has said.

The newest probe is another distraction for Barclays as it faces additional challenges to meet its profit goals. Barclays is set to appoint an external headhunting firm - possibly Spencer Stuart or Egon Zehnder - to identify potential external successors and the process could take up to a year, FT reported.

The change in top brass at Barclays would follow the change of guard at Europe's top banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Credit Suisse.

HSBC last August said it would appoint a new CEO within six to 12 months following the shock ouster of Mr John Flint, with his interim replacement Noel Quinn the internal candidate and favourite for the role.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS