Barclays boss Antony Jenkins yesterday said he was “shredding” the legacy left by predecessor Bob Diamond as he confirmed bonuses will be slashed following another £1 billion accounting provision to cover mis-selling scandals.
Mr Jenkins, who took over as CEO in August, told MPs he had repeatedly raised concerns with the board and Mr Diamond over the culture at the bank, and that actions were needed rather than words.
In a tense hearing with the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, Mr Jenkins assured MPs he was taking action to address the “aggressive” and “self-serving” culture prevalent under Mr Diamond.
He said the bonus pool for 2012 had already been “substantially” reduced following a scandal-hit year that saw the bank’s reputation battered by the Libor rate-rigging affair.
Mr Diamond quit last year after the bank agreed a £290 million settlement with UK and US regulators over the scandal.
The group said provisions for compensation for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance and interest-rate swap products to small businesses had specifically resulted in a material cut to the bonus pot.
Barclays had earlier revealed it was setting aside a further £600m for redress to cover mis-sold payment protection insurance, taking the total to £2.6bn.
The bank will also increase its provision for interest rate swap compensation by £400m to £850m in the wake of the Financial Services Authority’s recent report on mis-selling of the complex financial products.
Mr Jenkins last week said he would waive his bonus for 2012 following a “very difficult” year for the bank.