Barclays names Antony Jenkins CEO

Barclays has named retail banking boss Antony Jenkins as its new chief executive with a brief to restore the bank’s battered brand reputation.

barclays

Jenkins replaces Bob Diamond who stepped down last month after the bank was fined £290m by the City watchdog for manipulating the rates banks use to lend to each other in the wholesale market.

The appointment of retail banking expert Jenkins, who has led the British bank’s retail operations since 2009 after overseeing Barclaycard for three years from 2006, will be seen as an attempt to restore the reputation of its high street operation, which has took a battering since LIBOR.

In a statement, Jenkins admitted to “serious mistakes” and a “failure to keep pace with stakeholders’ expectations”.

He adds: “We have an obligation to all of those stakeholders – customers, clients, shareholders, colleagues and broader society – and a unique opportunity to restore Barclays reputation by making it the “go to” bank in all of our chosen markets. That journey will take time, we have much to do, and I look forward to getting started immediately.”

In a bid to reconnect with consumers, the bank has been running ads highlighting the services and apps available in its online “features store”. It is also exploring new straplines to emphasise its customer service credentials recently trademarking “you shaped banking”.

Jenkins, who takes up the CEO role with immediate effect, will receive a salary of £1.1m and possible bonus of up to 250 per cent of salary.

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