Barclays/Jes Staley: risk-seeking habit lingers on in bank’s structure

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Shame has gone out of style, judging from the behaviour of some politicians. The disgrace visited on Jes Staley by a provisional ban and fine of £1.8mn from the UK’s financial regulator is lessened by another reality: the ex-Barclays boss was never going to get a job at any other big financial institution anyway.

Apparent plot holes in Staley’s narrative concerning links to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced him to step down as chief executive of the UK bank in 2021.

He had claimed his relationship with the wealthy criminal had not been close in the years he spent as a senior JPMorgan Chase executive. The Financial Conduct Authority disagrees.

Though Staley plans to appeal, the FCA is attempting to close the circle on its investigation by barring him from top-tier City roles. The regulator says he “recklessly” approved a letter from Barclays that made “misleading statements” about his friendship with Epstein.

Lex dubbed Staley as “Mr Tumble” before links to the vile Epstein extinguished any taste for satire. The banker seemed habitually accident-prone. His errors included referring publicly to Barclays as “Morgans” and breaching conduct rules by attempting to identify a whistleblower.

During the 2010s, many in the City saw Barclays as culturally rotten, with staff mixed up in everything from tax avoidance to index-rigging. Staley’s misadventures maintained the impression of a business happy to take off-the-cuff risks to keep managerial rewards flowing.

Current boss CS Venkatakrishnan is a more sober figure. Barclays’ reputational issue will diminish in proportion to the length of time it can stay out of further trouble. The problem for “Venkat” is that he has inherited the diversified business structure Staley routed a US activist to preserve.

Staley insisted that two, at the time improbable, conditions were required for Barclays to win investors’ applause. First, dealmaking needed to surge, boosting investment banking returns. Second, interest rates had to rise, fattening net interest margins.

Both these things have occurred in the past three years. But Barclays shares only trade at 0.5 times price to tangible book value, almost half the level of stock in retail-focused Lloyds. Returns from the investment bank remain paltry compared with its likely cost of capital.

Staley is long gone from Barclays. Doubts over its balance of risks and rewards linger on.