Journal De Bruxelles - Barclays freezes ex-boss bonuses over Epstein probe

Barclays has frozen its former chief executive's unvested long-term bonus share awards -- worth $30 million or 26 million euros -- while he remains the subject of a regulatory investigation, the group said as it posted surging annual profits.

The bank said its nominations committee made the decision "pending further developments in respect of the regulatory and legal proceedings related to the ongoing investigation regarding Mr Staley".

The former boss, who quit last year, was nevertheless entitled to a contractual entitlement of £2.4 million in cash and shares -- equivalent of 12 months' salary -- as well as pension and other benefits.

Staley resigned in November ahead of contesting the outcome of the UK investigation into his historical relationship with Epstein, the American financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.

Staley stepped down after UK regulators informed the Barclays board of the preliminary conclusions of an ongoing probe.

The bank has stressed that watchdogs have made no findings that Staley saw or was aware of Epstein's crimes.

Staley for his part has expressed deep regret at having had a professional relationship with Epstein prior to becoming Barclays head in late 2015.

Epstein continues to cause huge fallout elsewhere, with Queen Elizabeth II's second son Prince Andrew this month settling a sexual assault lawsuit for an undisclosed sum with a woman who says she was "lent out" for underage sex by the late financier.

The prince has not been criminally charged and has denied the allegations.

- Profits surge -

Barclays on Wednesday also revealed that it had beefed up its staff bonus pool after 2021 net profits more than quadrupled as the economy recovered from coronavirus fallout.

Profit after tax surged to almost £6.4 billion, helped by the release of £700 million that had been set aside for bad loans during the pandemic.

That compared with a £1.5-billion profit the prior year, when Barclays had taken a £4.8-billion charge to cover Covid-19 fallout.

The bank ramped up its total bonus pool by almost a quarter to more than £1.9 billion, becoming the latest UK lender to shrug off Britain's cost of living crisis with dizzying staff incentives.

The 2021 profits performance was "driven by an improved macroeconomic outlook" and buoyed also by reduced unsecured lending balances and a benign credit environment, the bank said.

"Barclays demonstrated a clear and sustainable path to growth over the course of 2021," said chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan.

The annual results are the first under Venkatakrishnan, who was promoted from his role as head of global markets following Staley's sudden departure.

Barclays on Wednesday named Anna Cross as its new finance director with effect from April.

The deputy finance director was the first woman to take the top finance job at the lender.

K.Laurent--JdB