How much money did Barclays pay to Jes Staley as he exited the bank owing to some unpleasant business with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein?
The bank has results and an annual report out tomorrow, so we’ll find out then, assuming it doesn’t mysteriously leak before then, of course.
Why a pay-off? Well, I could be wrong, but the wording of the statement at the time strongly suggests that money will have changed hands.
Barclays and Staley parted company last November after receiving the early conclusions of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority into how he had characterised his relationship with Epstein.
The watchdog thinks he didn’t quite tell everything he should, in other words. Staley plans to fight the regulator.
Barclays said at the time: “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.”
It added: “The board is disappointed at this outcome. Mr Staley has run the Barclays Group successfully since December 2015 with real commitment and skill.”
Staley was paid £4 million in 2020 and nearer £6 million in 2019.
Whether the amount paid is purely a contractual obligation or not, it is plainly going to attract headlines. If somehow the amount is zero, what does that say about what else is in the FCA investigation?
The FT reported last year that Staley exchanged 1200 emails with Epstein over four years. Maybe this is just because Staley is a chatty, indeed likable, guy.
Stop talking mate, one was sometimes inclined to think.
“I thought I knew him, plainly I did not,” is what Staley said to me about Epstein at an earlier juncture.
That he stayed in touch after Epstein had a conviction for sex offences doesn’t say much for his judgement. Though perhaps he is just, as he also once said, accident prone.
The shame of it is that he was a very good chief executive. Profits tomorrow of perhaps £8 billion will speak to that.
At Investec Ian Gordon headed his latest note on Barclays “Harvesting Jes’ rich legacy”.
Last night Sky News reported that Barclays has frozen millions in share awards to Staley while the FCA probe continues.
So it may be that he gets a flat 12 months pay -- £2.5 million -- with the rest on hold.
He holds shares worth more than £20 million.
Plainly, Barclays would rather we focus on what it hasn’t given Staley, at least yet, rather than what it has.
Neither Barclays nor a representative for Jes Staley had any comment.
