‘I made a mistake’ admits Barclays chief

Barclays chief executive Jes Staley saw off a shareholder rebellion yesterday after apologising to investors for breaking rules designed to protect whistleblowers.

He told investors at its annual general meeting in London that he made a mistake after he attempted to identify a whistleblower at the bank.

Investors had been urged to abstain from a vote backing his re-election at the AGM over the affair, while it also recently emerged that his pay will be docked over the governance failings.

In the end just 2.8 per cent of votes cast at the bank’s annual meeting were against his reelection although abstentions totalled 13.8 per cent.

Addressing the shareholder gathering, Staley said: “I feel it is important that I acknowledge to you – our shareholders – that I made a mistake in becoming involved in an issue which I should have left to the business to deal with.

“I have apologised to the board, and I would today like to apologise to you as well, for that error.”

Staley is also fighting to save his reputation after it was recently revealed that he intervened in a dispute between his brother-in-law and US private equity giant KKR, which is a major Barclays client.

Barclays chairman John Mcfarlane told investors that while the group was close to completing its overhaul, “further challenges remain”.

He said the bank still needs to resolve a “number of material historical legacy conduct issues”, as it continues to fight US authorities over allegations about its part in a mortgage bond mis-selling scandal. 0 Jes Staley apologised to investors at AGM yesterday