Barclays CEO Jes Staley stops after Jeffrey Epstein probe

LONDON– Barclays CEO Jes Staley will stand down following an examination into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the bank stated in a declaration Monday.

C.S. Venkatakrishnan (called Venkat) will take control of as president with instant result, based on regulative approval.

Barclays and Staley “were made aware on Friday evening of the preliminary conclusions” of a probe by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, Barclays stated.

It included that the examination enjoyed “Mr Staley’s characterisation to Barclays of his relationship with the late Mr Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays’ response to the FCA.”

“In view of those conclusions, and Mr Staley’s intention to contest them, the Board and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays,” the bank stated.

Shares of Barclays were trading 1.2% lower Monday early morning after the statement.

The bank stated the examination “makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays’ support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019.”

Billionaire investor Epstein was jailed in July 2019 on kid sex trafficking charges however hanged himself a month later on in a Manhattan federal prison.

Staley’s links to the dead investor have actually been the topic of an examination by the U.K.’s monetary guard dog and the Bank of England’s regulative authority. Barclays stated the “regulatory process still has to run its full course and it is not appropriate for Barclays to comment further on the preliminary conclusions” of the examination.

Staley ended up being CEO of Barclays in October2015 He has formerly stated his relationship with Epstein, which he is sorry for, ended in late 2015, Reuters reported.

The news firm likewise stated Monday that Staley informed personnel in an internal memo, seen by Reuters, that he did not desire his “personal response” to the examinations to be an interruption.

“Although I will not be with you for the next chapter of Barclays’ story, know that I will be cheering your success from the sidelines,” he stated, according to Reuters.

Fahed Kunwar, an equity expert at Redburn, informed CNBC on Monday that information was still doing not have around the monetary regulators’ probe. He mentioned that Staley had a rather hard relationship with Britain’s monetary regulators who fined him in 2018 for attempting to determine a whistleblower who corresponded slamming a Barclays worker.

“Clearly we need to see what the review says. But I think this adds to the widening picture of his relationship with the regulators being difficult and I think that is why he has stepped down so quickly today,” he informed CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” explaining Staley’s departure as a shock for financiers nevertheless.

“In the last couple of years, the investment bank has had such a solid performance I think Mr Staley’s position had become quite entrenched and so investors had really changed their mind on him and liked the direction of travel of Barclays,” he included.

Regarding the visit of Venkat, Barclays stated its board “has had succession planning in hand for some time, including reviewing potential external appointees, and identified Venkat as its preferred candidate for this role over a year ago, as a result of which he moved from the position of Group Chief Risk Officer to Head of Global Markets.”

Barclays stated it was positive that under his management, the bank “will continue its strategic direction and improve performance in line with the progress of recent years.”

Prior to signing up with Barclays in 2016, Venkat operated at JPMorgan Chase from 1994, holding senior functions in possession management and financial investment banking.

Any previous association with Epstein is now showing poisonous for a range of prominent individuals.

Epstein’s close partner and previous sweetheart, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is herself waiting for trial on charges that she hired minor women to be sexually abused byEpstein She rejects the charges.

One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, has actually declared that Prince Andrew of Britain, the Duke of York, made love with her when she was minor and in the clutches of Epstein andMaxwell Prince Andrew rejects the claims.

Epstein is likewise understood to have actually fraternized previous U.S. presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, both of whom have actually looked for to distance themselves from Epstein, insisting they understood absolutely nothing of his criminal offenses.

Susannah Streeter, senior financial investment and markets expert at Hargreaves Lansdown, talked about Monday that “‘the repercussions from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal stretch far and wide, and now Barclays finds itself at the centre of the storm.”

“While the probe did not centre on Mr Staley’s role at Barclays but what he disclosed about his previous position at JP Morgan, what was under question was how he characterised his former relationship with the disgraced financier,” she stated in a note.

“It’s understood Mr Staley will contest the conclusions, and clearly the board want to distance Barclays from what could be a long drawn out process.”