Barclays picks new chairman to steer bank amid Libor crisis

LONDON, United Kingdom – Barclays on Thursday said industry veteran David Walker would become its new chairman from November, succeeding Marcus Agius who resigned over the Libor rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the British bank.

A statement said “Sir David Walker has been appointed as a non-executive director of Barclays with effect from 1 September 2012 and will succeed Marcus Agius as chairman of Barclays with effect from 1 November 2012.”

Walker, a former deputy head of the Bank of England and ex-chairman of US bank Morgan Stanley, said his “immediate priority, and critical to Barclays’ ongoing success, will be the appointment of a new chief executive.”

Barclays is looking for a new chief executive after US national Bob Diamond quit the post at the start of July along with Agius and the bank’s chief operating officer Jerry del Missier owing to the Libor scandal.

The London-listed bank was fined £290 million ($453 million, 369 million euros) in June by British and US regulators after admitting that it attempted to manipulate the Libor and Euribor rates between 2005 and 2009.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is considering whether to bring criminal prosecutions over the Libor scandal, while Prime Minister David Cameron has launched a parliamentary inquiry into revelations that Barclays traders lied about the interest rates other banks were charging it for loans.

Libor, or London Interbank Offered Rate, is a flagship London instrument used as an interest benchmark throughout the world, while Euribor is the eurozone equivalent.

The rates affect what banks, businesses and individuals pay to borrow money, while the scandal risks engulfing banks across the world.

Walker, who is 72, has worked at Britain’s Treasury and is presently a senior advisor to Morgan Stanley, said he was looking forward to playing his part “in taking the company forward after recent events.”

He added in Thursday’s statement that was issued after the close of London markets: “The UK needs a strong financial services sector and Barclays has a crucial role to play in ensuring that this country has a successful, well-governed banking industry.”

Walker oversaw a 2009 inquiry into the rules governing how British banks were run. The Walker Review, published in November of that year, called for financial institutions to publish the number of staff paid more than £1.0 million.

The report was commissioned by the then finance minister Alistair Darling — who was part of the former Labor government — amid concerns short-term pay awards were linked to the risk-taking by banks ahead of the financial crisis.

The departing Agius on Thursday said “Barclays is fortunate to have attracted” Walker to succeed him as chairman.

“He will be taking over at a time when Barclays universal banking model is delivering a strong performance in difficult markets. I wish him every success as he leads Barclays at this important time.”

Barclays said Walker would be paid £750,000 a year, 13% of which would be in the form of shares in the bank.

John Sunderland, who led the process to appoint a successor to Agius, said Walker “commands great respect within the financial services industry and will bring immense experience, integrity and knowledge to the role” of chairman.

Ahead of the announcement, Barclays shares closed flat at 178.95 pence on London’s benchmark FTSE 100, which gained 0.10% to 5,851.51 points. – Agence France-Presse