Barclays shares drop 1% after whistleblowing investigation
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Shares in Barclays slipped slightly but remained fairly steady in early trading after it announced that the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England are launching investigations into the handling of whistleblowers by the bank and its chief executive Jes Staley.
Barclays and law firm Simmons & Simmons concluded that Mr Staley made an honest mistake in attempting to identify the authors of two anonymous letters that raised concerns about a recent recruit.
The bank said this morning that it would issue Mr Staley with a formal reprimand and a “very significant” adjustment to his bonus, but chairman John McFarlane said the board will support his reappointment as chief executive at its AGM in May.
Shares in the group dropped as much as 1.2 per cent in early trading, and at publication time were down 1 per cent at 213p. That made it the worst non-mining stock on the FTSE 100, but the fall came as banking stocks fell across Europe. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.9 per cent and every constituent of the Euro Stoxx Banks Index was in the red.
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