Barclays Agrees Diamond Pay-Off Of 'About £2m'

Bob Diamond, the former Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) chief executive, has reached agreement with the bank over a pay-off that directors will argue is the minimum possible.

I have learned that Barclays will announce this morning that it is to pay Mr Diamond somewhere in the region of £2m following his departure from the bank last week.

The severance deal is expected to be announced during the Treasury Select Committee hearing of Marcus Agius, Barclays' chairman, which takes place at 10am.

The figure has yet to be confirmed by Barclays, but if the £1.5m-£2.5m range is accurate, it will represent one year's basic salary and pension contribution for Mr Diamond. It would mean that he has sacrificed as much as £18m in deferred share bonuses and long-term share awards awarded during recent years.

Part of that is likely to have been voluntary on Mr Diamond's part although some of these bonuses will have been subject to clawback and so-called malus clauses by Barclays' board.

I should caution that the talks over the severance deal have been ongoing throughout the last 24 hours and it's possible that the final number could yet change.

Barclays declined to comment.

• See update on pay-off here