Is getting its hands slapped a strong enough message? The latest in the bad bank sagas has the British bank, Barclays, red-faced. As it should.
CEO Jes Staley has been reprimanded for attempting to discover the identity of an internal company whistleblower. Mr. Staley stated that he was trying to protect a colleague from what he considered an unfair attack.
Mr. Staley took his inquiry so far he had Barclay employees reach out to postal inspectors in his attempt to discover who had anonymously mailed two letters to the Barclays board, which complained about the bank hiring a mid-level executive.
The resulting fallout will see Mr. Staley facing a significant pay cut plus regulatory probes.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has him under investigation which could result in a fine and a possible ban from the financial services industry if the FCA does not find him “fit and proper to lead the firm.”
Regards,
Richard
