Barclays faces top investor backlash over Staley exit package

Barclays is facing a backlash from top shareholders over former chief Jes Staley’s exit package.

Investors have voiced their distaste privately at the £2.4m in pay given to Staley after he quit his role as chief executive of the British bank to contest the findings of a probe into whether he inaccurately described his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

An influential investor lobby group, the Investor Forum, has received complaints from its members, which include large pension funds and investment houses, over Barclays’s decision to allow Staley to retain millions in fixed pay and an over £100,000 pension.

The news was first reported by the Financial Times.

Staley recently left his post to fight the findings of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority into his characterisation of his relationship with Epstein.

He was replaced by CS Venkatakrishnan, or “Venkat” as he is affectionately known in the City, who previously headed Barclays’ global markets division.