Jenkins shreds Diamond legacy as he defends his own PPI past
NEW Barclays chief Antony Jenkins yesterday told MPs and peers he has the “iron will” needed to force through cultural reforms at the bank, and that his dedication to good behaviour saw him challenge former boss Bob Diamond on the problem a year ago.
He said that the bank’s bonus pool will be “adjusted substantially to reflect the events of last year.”
Jenkins told the parliamentary commission on banking standards he would resign if a Libor-style scandal struck on his watch – unlike Diamond who only stood down after a grilling from MPs.
But he added any punishment should be proportionate, noting that although he headed Barclay-Card for three years while it sold PPI, he had tried to improve the sales process and cut down on misselling, so should only lose his bonus, not his job.
“On occasion the executive committee had debates on topics around citizenship,” he told the commission.
“I felt we should pursue that at the bank – in the first part of last year I sought to argue we needed to run the bank in the way we are now describing,” he added.