Barclays appoints former Rothschild veteran Nigel Higgins as next chairman

Barclays has confirmed that Rothschild deputy chairman Nigel Higgins has been lined up as the replacement to current group chairman John McFarlane, following a six month search process.

The switch-over, which was revealed by Sky News earlier this evening, is scheduled to take place after the bank's annual general meeting in May 2019.

However Higgins will initially commence his tenure at Barclays with a stint as a non-executive director on the bank's board on from the beginning of March.

The new chairman has spent his entire 36-year career at Rothschild to date, joining the firm in 1982 after graduating from university. He remains the only non-family member to have held a leading role at the investment bank.

He will remain in his other roles upon joining Barclays, which include positions on the boards of Sadler's Wells and Tetra Laval.

McFarlane is the third chairman to have stepped down from the bank in six years, after the exits of Sir David Walker in 2015 and Marcus Agius in 2012.

He had squashed rumours of his upcoming resignation earlier this year, telling investors: "You are not getting rid of me yet."

In a statement released tonight, McFarlane said:

"While it is always a difficult choice to retire from a company as prestigious as Barclays, I am delighted that the board has appointed Nigel Higgins to succeed me as chairman."

Higgins dismissed the idea that he might shake up the bank's executive leadership on his arrival, saying he is "totally committed" to helping Barclays and its people develop.