Ian Cheshire quits as chair of Barclays

He will be replaced by Crawford Gillies, bank says

Sir Ian is to remain on the board until May to ensure a smooth transition (Rex Features)

Ian Cheshire will step down as chair of Barclays retail bank in January, after almost four years in the role.

Although he will leave the job at the start of next month, Sir Ian will stay on the board until May to guarantee a smooth hand-over to his successor.

The former Kingfisher chief is said to have quit the £480,000-a-year position because he could not not give the bank the necessary time to help it with its Covid-19 recovery plans.

During his tenure, which involved creating a separate customer-facing company as part of new City rules, he worked two days a week at Barclays on average.

Barclays said in a statement on Friday that it needed a “concerted focus” to support customers amid an economy suffering “from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and a continuing low-interest-rate environment”.

"With regret, Sir Ian has informed the group that he is unable to accommodate the increased time commitment and duration required to see through this programme,” the statement added.

Sir Ian will be replaced by Crawford Gillies, who has served as senior independent director on the main board since 2014.

Earlier in his career, Mr Gillies was a consultant for Bain & Co. He is also a chairman of the spirits group Edringron.

On Tuesday, Barclays was fined more than £26m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for treating unfairly customers who fell into debt between 2014 and 2018. 

The FCA said that the bank had not contacted these people properly, adding that it had failed to explain the reason for their arrears and had not offered them sustainable routes out of debt.

Additional reporting by PA