10th April, 2017
Jes Staley, the chief executive of Barclays, will lose his annual bonus after two regulators opened an investigation into his conduct in a whistleblowing case.
He had tried to discover who wrote a whistleblowing letter to the bank.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will investigate his conduct.
Barclays will also dock Mr Staley’s pay by as much as £1.3m, or all of his annual bonus.
He will also be issued with a formal written reprimand.
Mr Staley said: “I will co-operate fully with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, which are now both examining this matter.
“Our whistleblowing process is one of the most important means by which we protect our culture and values at Barclays and I certainly want to ensure that all colleagues, and others who may utilise it, understand the criticality which I attach to it.”
UNFAIR
In June 2016, members of the Barclays board received an anonymous letter and a senior executive received another anonymous letter, raising concerns about a senior employee who had been recruited by Barclays earlier that year.
The letters, which were being treated as whistleblows, raised concerns of a personal nature about the senior employee, and Mr Staley’s knowledge of and role in dealing with those issues at a previous employer.
It also raised questions over the appropriateness of the recruitment process followed on this occasion by Barclays.
Mr Staley asked Barclays’ internal investigation team to attempt to identify the authors of the letters, which the chief executive thought were an unfair personal attack on the senior employee.
Mr Staley told the Barclays board he had been trying to protect a colleague who had experienced personal difficulties in the past from what he believed to be an unfair attack. BBC reports.
He has apologised to the board, which has accepted his apology and said that Mr Staley “continues to have the board’s unanimous confidence”.
Analysis: Simon Jack, business editor
Whistleblowers are a key weapon in the war against corruption and wrongdoing.
Regulators rely on them to be eyes and ears within organisations as diverse as hospitals and banks. But whistleblowing only works if it’s anonymous.
If bosses can hunt down those who raise concerns, then valuable information is less likely to surface.
That’s why financial regulators are so concerned by the conduct of Barclays boss Jes Staley.
Barclays conducted their own inquiry into this, led by Barclays’ deputy chairman Gerry Grimstone, and concluded that Mr Staley had made an honest but serious mistake by believing he was allowed to try and identify the sender.
It remains to be seen whether Barclays decision to reprimand and hit its CEO in the pocket will pacify regulators, who may take a dim view of trying to expose their useful friend – the whistleblower.