Barclays bank on 'nice guy' Antony Jenkins

NEW Barclays boss Antony Jenkins has pledged to restore its tarnished reputation as another scandal emerged at the banking giant.

Mr Jenkins, who grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, was handed the top job of chief executive just hours after Barclays revealed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was investigating payments made between the bank and Middle East investors Qatar Holding at the height of the financial crisis.

The dad-of-two has been chief executive of Barclay's retail and business division since 2009 and has previously been dubbed 'the nice guy' of banking.

He succeeds Bob Diamond, who resigned earlier this year after the bank was fined £290 million by UK and U.S. regulators for manipulating Libor, an interbank lending rate which affects mortgages and loans.

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Mr Jenkins will earn a package worth a potential £8.6 million a year.His annual salary will be £1.1 million plus a potential bonus of up to 250 per cent of that amount.

The 51-year-old said: "I am very proud to have been asked to lead Barclays, where I began my career nearly 30 years ago. "Barclays is a strong universal bank, with many assets. But we have made serious mistakes in recent years and clearly failed to keep pace with our stakeholders' expectations.

"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."

Industry experts believe Mr Jenkins' appointment is part of an attempt to move away from the aggressive culture epitomised by Mr Diamond, an investment rather than retail banker.

Chairman Marcus Agius, who is stepping down later this year, said: "Antony stood out among a very competitive field of internal and external candidates"

Mr Jenkins was educated at Oxford University and has a Masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics as well as an MBA from the Cranfield Institute of Technology.

He joined Barclays as a graduate trainee in 1983 before moving to Citigroup. He returned in 2006 as head of the bank's Barclaycard credit card business before taking on responsibility for its retail and business division in 2009.

Richard Farmiloe, divisional director at investment management firm Brewin Dolphin's Festival Park office, said: "The fact that Barclays has appointed an internal candidate from the retail banking side of the business to lead has surprised some, given a large proportion of Barclays profits have come from the investment banking arm.

"However, this may be designed to reassure investors and regulators that he will have a fresh approach to this higher risk investment banking division, which has been the source of damage to Barclays reputation with the recent Libor fixing scandal, criticism of excessive bonuses and former chief executive Bob Diamond."