Disgraced Barclays chief Jerry del Missier banks £9m payoff

Fury at bonus for top banker in rate-fixing scandal

Barclays was engulfed in scandal again last night after reports emerged of an £8.75m payoff to the most senior executive to authorise the false submission of Libor interest rates. Jerry del Missier resigned last month but is said to have arranged the payoff in the days before his departure. The move stands in stark contrast to a decision by his boss, Bob Diamond, to give up deferred bonus payments worth up to £20m.

Last night a political storm was brewing over the payment, which Barclays repeatedly refused to deny. "We're making no comment," a spokesman said.

A Labour member of the parliamentary inquiry into banking standards, however, said such a payoff would be "totally inappropriate". Andrew Love said: "In the light of the circumstances in which Mr del Missier left Barclays it is totally inappropriate that he should be rewarded with a substantial payoff. Since he was the trusted lieutenant of Bob Diamond you would have thought he would have taken a similar stance to Bob Diamond."

The TUC also reacted with fury. Its general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: "If these figures are true, this takes rewards for failure to a whole new level. The City desperately needs to improve its stock with the British public and excessive payoffs like this won't help one bit. Instead banks need to focus on the real job of putting Britain back to work by getting credit into cash-starved companies. With the UK in the depths of a double-dip [recession], bankers should be concentrating less on their pay and bonuses, and more on getting the economy growing again."

The news came just hours after Alison Carnwath resigned as chairwoman of Barclays' remuneration committee, which is responsible for setting top executives' pay.

Her committee's decision to award Mr Diamond a £6.5m bonus in 2011 despite the bank missing his own targets sparked a shareholder revolt at the bank's annual meeting. Her opposition to the payment was over-ruled.

Mr del Missier was reportedly due the money – part of a long-term incentive award – in March, but deferred it amid the simmering fury over bankers' pay at the bank's request. This meant it would not have had a legal basis to deny him the money although he would have been at liberty to forgo the payment in a similar manner to his boss.

Mr del Missier was one of Barclays' best-paid staff but because he was not on the board it is technically under no obligation to disclose his pay.

The banker, who worked with Mr Diamond to build Barclays Capital into a major force in investment banking, revealed that while they were close colleagues they were not close friends at a hearing of the Treasury Select Committee.

This week Barclays announced the appointment of a senior banker from Rothschild's, Anthony Salz, to review its business practices which is likely to cover the way its bankers are paid.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
       
 
iJobs Job Widget
iJobs Money & Business

FATCA Project Manager

£600 - £750 per day: Orgtel: FATCA Project Manager - Banking - London - £600-...

Fidessa Analyst / PM - Banking - London - £600pd

£550 - £600 per day: Orgtel: Fidessa Analyst / PM - Banking - London - Up to £...

Quant Analyst, Banking, London, £55-60k Per Annum

£55000 - £60000 per annum + Benefits + Pension: Orgtel: Quantitative Analyst, ...

KYC ANALYST

£150 - £250 per day: Orgtel: KYC Analyst - London - Banking - £150-250/day C...

Day In a Page

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over
Hannah England: I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess

Hannah England: Keeping Track

I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess
Beards, brawn and body art

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

Laughter Inc

The cheering growth of the chuckle industry
The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends