Barclays Activist Eases Pressure on CEO Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

   By Simon Clark 
 

Barclays PLC shareholder Sherborne Investors said Thursday that it is reluctantly easing its pressure on the British bank's Chief Executive Jes Staley.

Sherborne said it will no longer vote against the re-election of Mr. Staley because of the challenges the U.K. bank faces due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Staley is up for re-election at the bank's annual meeting in May.

Sherborne, which says it holds the largest stake in Barclays, said in a letter to other shareholders that "with great reluctance" it will now only withhold its vote on Mr. Staley's re-election.

Barclays should announce a timetable for Mr. Staley's replacement, Sherborne said.

Sherborne previously called on Barclays to withdraw its support for its American CEO because of his professional relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"We continue to believe that Mr. Staley has not demonstrated the level of judgment befitting a director or senior executive of the company," Sherborne said in the letter.

Write to Simon Clark at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2020 06:23 ET (10:23 GMT)

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