Barclays Plc is freezing potentially millions of pounds worth of payouts to former Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley as a U.K. regulatory probe continues into his ties to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The bank’s board remuneration committee has suspended “the vesting of all of Staley’s unvested awards, pending further developments in respect of the regulatory and legal proceedings related to the ongoing FCA and PRA investigation,” according to the bank’s 2021 annual report.
Staley resigned in November after the board decided his position was untenable when U.K. regulators shared with Barclays the preliminary findings of their probe into what he told the bank’s board about his relationship with Epstein.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan took over with immediate effect. Staley is contesting the Financial Conduct Authority’s findings.
Barclays said in November it will continue to pay Staley’s salary of 2.4 million pounds ($3.3 million) and other benefits for the next year and said he’s eligible for repatriation costs to the U.S.
Since Staley was appointed in 2015, “only 16% of his variable remuneration has vested,” the annual statement noted. “A similar portion has lapsed without vesting. The significant majority, almost 70%, remains unvested, comprising a combination of deferred bonus and Long Term Incentive Plan.”
In 2020, Staley’s total variable pay was 1.4 million pounds, including 843,000 pounds for his annual bonus and 541,000 pounds under the long-term incentive plan.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Barclays has adjusted Staley’s pay. In 2019, it clawed back 500,000 pounds from his 2016 bonus after his attempt to unmask a whistle-blower was the subject of a regulatory probe and fine.
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