Business
Barclays CEO Steps Down Amid Pressure Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties
U.K. lender says regulators had made preliminary conclusions in investigation into relationship
Jes Staley stepped down as chief executive of Barclays BCS -0.09% PLC under pressure from regulators about how he characterized his relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Barclays said Mr. Staley stepped down “in view of the conclusions” made by U.K. regulators in its long-running investigation into what Mr. Staley told the bank about his association with Epstein and what it told regulators about the relationship. Barclays shares fell 0.7% Monday.
The probe concluded that Mr. Staley provided an incomplete picture of his relationship with Epstein, which the board passed on to the regulator, according to people familiar with the investigation.
The bank said the investigation didn’t find evidence that “Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes” and said Mr. Staley was planning to contest the conclusions made by regulators.
“I do not want my personal response to those matters to be a distraction from the fantastic work you do every day to support our customers and clients,” Mr. Staley wrote to staff in an internal memo.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan, head of global markets, will take over as chief executive immediately, the bank said.
Spokespeople for the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority confirmed the Barclays statement but declined to provide further details about the investigation.
“It appears regulators believe there was a distinct lack of transparency over this relationship,” said Susannah Streeter, an analyst at U.K. asset manager and stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.
Mr. Staley has said his relationship with Epstein was professional and began in 2000 when he was head of the private bank at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the financier was a client. He told journalists in February 2020 that his interactions with Epstein began to “taper off” after he left JPMorgan in 2013 and that the last time he had contact with him was in the “middle to fall” of 2015. He became Barclays CEO in December 2015.
The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2020 that Mr. Staley, who had a large custom-designed sailboat, visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island twice with his wife.
The bank disclosed the existence of the FCA investigation in February 2020. At the time, Mr. Staley said of Epstein: “I thought I knew him well and I didn’t…For sure, with hindsight, with what we all know now, I deeply regret having had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Barclays said board members were disappointed that Mr. Staley was stepping down. Mr. Staley, 64, said a year ago that he intended to stay at the bank for a couple more years.
Mr. Staley had a bumpy tenure as CEO. He joined the bank in 2015 and struggled to convince investors about the bank’s business model. He saw Barclays as a mini-version of JPMorgan, with a retail bank—one of the U.K.’s largest—combined with a sizable trans-Atlantic investment bank.
The bank’s share price has fallen about 10% since Mr. Staley took charge.
Barclays is the U.K.’s last remaining investment bank that competes on Wall Street with the likes of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan. It acquired parts of Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis and has a large U.S. credit-card business.
During his tenure, Mr. Staley streamlined operations and cut thousands of jobs. He appointed fellow former JPMorgan bankers to senior positions, including Mr. Venkatakrishnan.