Grimstone In Talks Over Top Barclays Role

One of the City's most prominent figures is in talks to join the board of Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) as it prepares for a shake-up under John McFarlane, its new chairman.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that Barclays has approached Sir Gerry Grimstone, a former privatisation adviser to Margaret Thatcher, as a non-executive director.

If the plans come to fruition, Sir Gerry would become Barclays' deputy chairman and senior independent director when Sir Mike Rake, a long-serving board member at the bank, steps down next year.

The news comes as Barclays closes in on the appointment of a new chief executive to replace Antony Jenkins, who was brutally ousted by the bank's board during the summer.

Sir Gerry would bring a heavyweight presence to the Barclays boardroom at a time when many shareholders remain unconvinced by the bank's strategy or the pace at which it is being implemented.

Returns at its investment bank have been frustratingly lacklustre for investors, with Mr McFarlane promising to take a robust approach to improving performance across all areas of the business.

Sir Gerry is also chairman of the FTSE-100 insurance company Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) , where he has served since 2007.

He is likely to step down from that position in the next couple of years.

Barclays has been hunting for a new deputy chairman since Sir Mike signalled that he would become chairman of Worldpay, the payments giant which will be propelled straight into the FTSE-100 when its shares begin trading on the London Stock exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) in the next few weeks.

Regulators insisted that Sir Mike remain on the Barclays board until a new chief executive is in place in order to avoid excessive influence being wielded by Mr McFarlane.

Sir Gerry and Mr McFarlane know each other well, most recently from their mutual involvement in the lobbying group TheCityUK.

If Sir Gerry is appointed by Barclays, one issue that the bank and Standard Life would have to address is the possible conflicts of interest if he simultaneous holds both positions.

Standard Life Investments is a major shareholder in Barclays and has in the past voted against key resolutions at its shareholder meetings.

The two companies also collaborate in a number of product areas, which could prompt shareholders to seek assurances about the separation of Sir Gerry's interests.

Barclays established a non-core unit last year, into which it placed a broad range of loans and businesses accounting for more than £100bn of risk-weighted assets.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) has since sold a number of them, including its retail operations in Spain, which were acquired by CaixaBank (Other OTC: CAIXY - news) , the country’s third-biggest lender.

Mr Jenkins' departure surprised the City after Mr McFarlane had signalled that there would no change in Barclays' strategy.

On the subject of identifying his successor, Mr McFarlane said during the summer that it was important to make “the right decision, not a quick one”.

Barclays declined to comment on Friday, while a Standard Life spokesman could not be reached.