Barclays Shareholder Calls for CEO Jes Staley to Leave Over Epstein Links
March 02 2020 - 4:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Simon Clark
LONDON--Barclays PLC Chief Executive Jes Staley should leave
because his professional relationship with the late financier and
convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein makes him unsuitable for the
job, according to an activist investor with a large stake in the
British bank.
U.K. regulators are investigating disclosures about the
professional relationship between Mr. Staley and Mr. Epstein, who
died in prison last year. The Barclays boss's interactions with Mr.
Epstein date back to at least 2000, when Mr. Staley led JPMorgan
Chase & Co.'s private bank and Mr. Epstein was a client. Mr.
Staley has said there was no interaction between them after he
became Barclays CEO in December 2015.
Sherborne said in the statement that the board of Barclays
should reverse its decision to recommend Mr. Staley for re-election
at the next annual meeting. Sherborne owns more than 5% of Barclays
shares. Sherborne said in the statement that it's now the largest
shareholder in Barclays.
"We request and strongly recommend that the bank's chairman,
Nigel Higgins, and the board as a whole rescind their unanimous
recommendation to re-elect Staley," Sherborne said. "We believe
that it would be in everyone's interest to draw a line under this
destabilizing situation, which has become a circus, as soon as
possible. This would allow the company to move forward and focus on
more constructive activities."
A Barclays spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Write to Simon Clark at simon.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2020 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT)
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