£17m bonus bonanza for top Barclays bosses despite string of scandals

Five top bosses at Barclays will share a jackpot worth up to £17million despite being tainted by a string of scandals.
Those in line for the ‘wildly misjudged’ bonanza include chief executive Antony Jenkins and Rich Ricci, the controversial investment bank boss.
They could pocket up to £2.2million and £6million respectively from deferred shares bonuses awarded in 2010.

Striking it rich: The bank's top five bosses are set to share the jackpot despite a string of scandals

A  portion of this will be paid out in May, with the remainder triggering at the end of the year and dished out the following May.
Finance chief Chris Lucas, under investigation over Barclays’ 2008 emergency fund-raisings in the Middle East, could receive up to £5m. This includes a tranche of his 2011 bonus which pays out this May.

 

The other four are in line for a portion of their 2011 bonuses too, but the bank does not disclose who gets what.
The awards threaten to plunge Barclays into another row about pay as it attempts to rebuild its reputation.
Luke Hildyard, of campaign group the High Pay Centre, said: ‘Multi-million pound payments to bankers are unjustifiable and unnecessary at the best of times, but in the aftermath of the Libor scandal they look wildly misjudged.
‘Banks do have some capacity to withhold performance-related bonuses at their own discretion, and Barclays should certainly think about exercising these powers.’
Barclays last night stressed the awards are linked to performance, so it is not yet clear how much its top brass will receive. It added that over the last five years an average of just under 40 per cent of the maximum was paid.
Jenkins has pledged to deploy special ‘clawback’ powers to recoup deferred bonuses after a spate of scandals, including Libor-rigging and the mis-selling of payment protection insurance. It is not clear if 2010 awards will be affected.  
Barclays has attempted to defuse a row over bonuses ahead of its annual report detailing its pay awards in March.
Jenkins forfeited around £1million for last year, while Lucas and Ricci also gave up 2012 bonuses after the bank was fined £290million for manipulating interest rates. But news of huge pay-outs from other years threatens to undermine efforts to break with the past.   
Ricci is a hugely divisive figure who helped run the investment bank while traders bragged about manipulating Libor interest rates. Critics see him as the epitome of the aggressive ‘casino’ culture under former boss Bob Diamond.
Lucas has seen his tenure overshadowed by probes into emergency fund-raisings with Qatar investors. He, along with three current and former executives, are being investigated over fees paid as part of the deal. Any windfall for Tom Kalaris, head of stockbroking and investment arm Barclays Wealth, could also prove highly controversial.
The division’s chief operating officer Andrew Tinney quit last month after it emerged he suppressed an explosive dossier which described it as ‘out of control’.
The independent report described a ‘broken culture’ of fear and intimidation under Kalaris, where problems were ignored or buried.
Jenkins could also come under fire if he receives a substantial award. The bank is still counting the cost of the PPI mis-selling scandal which occurred under his watch as the former head of Barclaycard.  
A big award for Robert Le Blanc – chief risk officer since 2004 – could expose the bank to criticism.
All the scandals which have left Barclays fighting for its reputation occurred during his tenure.
The 2010 performance-related awards include a long-term incentive plan, which is paid in May next year, and two separate deferred share awards which pay out in equal tranches over three years.