Investors Urge Barclays To Go Outside For CEO

Major City shareholders in Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) are to urge the bank to overlook its highly regarded finance chief and appoint an outsider as its next boss.

Sky News has learnt that a number of leading investors will in the coming days tell John McFarlane, Barclays' new executive chairman, that Antony Jenkins' successor as chief executive should be an external appointee.

Tushar Morzaria, the chief financial officer who joined Barclays in 2013, has been installed by bookmakers as a leading candidate for the job since Mr Jenkins was unceremoniously ousted earlier this month .

However, a number of sources suggest that Mr Morzaria has told friends that he does not wish to be considered for the chief executive's post.

Barclays declined to comment on that on Tuesday, with one insider saying that Mr Morzaria was likely to be "neutral" about the issue when he is questioned publicly about it.

City investors believe that Mr Morzaria is doing an effective job as Barclays' finance chief, but question whether he has the right profile or leadership skills to run one of the world's biggest banks at a time when it is undertaking another major restructuring.

"He is a great CFO, but if he were to move up, it would only leave them with the issue of having to find another competent CFO, which is hardly straightforward," one investor said.

Mr McFarlane plans to meet leading shareholders in the coming weeks to discuss Barclays' half-year results, which will be announced on Wednesday.

He is expected to face further questions about the motivation for Mr Jenkins' sacking, particularly if profits beat City forecasts, as some insiders predict they will.

The former chief executive, who took over in the wake of Barclays' Libor fine in 2012, was appointed with a mandate to clean up the company's reputation.

Although he made progress in that area, some board members felt that he was not moving quickly enough to shed non-core assets or to withdraw its underperforming investment bank from capital-consuming businesses.

The installation of Mr McFarlane as executive chairman was approved by banking regulators, but they are believed to be uncomfortable with the idea of a prolonged period when the roles of chairman and chief executive are effectively held by one individual.

Sir Mike Rake, the current deputy chairman, has been asked to stay on until a new chief executive is in place, a request which has been complicated by his acceptance of the chairmanship of the payments processing company Worldpay.

Among the external executives touted as possible contenders to replace Mr Jenkins have been Mike Smith, the ANZ chief who knows Mr McFarlane well from their time together at the Australian lender.