Barclays sacks Chief Executive amidst cost cutting row

Antony Jenkins, chief executive at Barclays has been sacked, amid rows at boardroom level over the bank’s cost cutting procedures.

Towards the end of his tenure at the banking corporation, it seems that Jenkins lost the confidence of the boardroom.

Barclays chairman John McFarlane has hit out against Jenkins, starting that ‘‘what we need is profit improvement. Barclays is not efficient. We are cumbersome.’’ McFarlane will now serve as interim chief executive until a successor for Jenkins is found.

The decision to sack Jenkins was not an easy one, according to non-executive director Sir Michael Rake, who was part of the committee who awarded  Jenkins the chief executive job in 2012.

‘‘I reflected long and hard on the issue of Group leadership and discussed this with each of the Non-Executive Directors.  Notwithstanding Antony’s significant achievements, it became clear to all of us that a new set of skills were required for the period ahead.’’

‘‘This does not take away from our appreciation of Antony’s contribution at a critical time for the company.’’

Rumours suggest that Rake and Jenkins were at loggerheads over the future of the bank’s global identity, with Rake disapproving of Jenkin’s extreme cost cutting measures.

Despite the sackings of its chief executive, it’s all systems go at Barclays. Payment Eye recently reported that the bank has signed a deal with payments provider Zapp, allowing its users to transfer money to each other using Zapp’s smartphone application.

In its announcement, Barclays state that a search in now underway to find Jenkins’ replacement, and that its interim results will still be announced as planned on 29th July.

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