Barclays boss John McFarlane to join Treasury financial services board
John McFarlane, executive chairman of Barclays, is set to join the Treasury’s Financial Services Trade and Investment Board (FSTIB) as an external member today.
The FSTIB was set up to identify opportunities for growth across the UK financial sector.
McFarlane, who has been nicknamed “Mack the Knife”, played a pivotal role in the recent high-profile ousting of Barclays’s chief executive, Antony Jenkins.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has since written to Barclays to urge them to find a replacement for Jenkins quickly, expressing concern about how much power McFarlane had over the bank.
McFarlane’s influence was also seen last week when deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake revealed he will be leaving Barclays in September – stepping down after nine years on the bank’s board.
The news of McFarlane’s FSTIB appointment was reported by Sky News yesterday afternoon. The Treasury has declined to comment.
Sky reported that Helena Morrissey, who runs Newton Investment Management and has spearheaded the drive for greater gender diversity in British boardrooms, and Santander UK’s chief executive, Nathan Bostock, would also be named as FSTIB members.
Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC, is among the FSTIB directors stepping down from the panel. HSBC is reviewing whether to relocate its headquarters offshore.