Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins Forgoes Potential £2.75m Bonus

Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins has snubbed a potential £2.75m bonus after saying it would be 'wrong' to receive extra compensation due to the number of mis-selling and market manipulation scandals that have rocked the bank.

"The year just past was clearly a very difficult one for Barclays and its stakeholders, with multiple issues of our own making besetting the bank. I think it only right that I bear an appropriate degree of accountability for those matters, and I have concluded that it would be wrong for me to receive a bonus for 2012 given those circumstances," says Jenkins in a statement on Barclays website.

"I am aware of considerable speculation about, and public interest in, the question of whether I will be awarded a bonus in respect of my performance in 2012. To avoid further unnecessary public debate on this matter, I wish to make clear that I concluded early this week that I do not wish to be considered for a bonus award for 2012, and I have communicated that decision to the Board," he adds.

Jenkins, who joined the bank in August last year, has a total potential pay package, including pension, basic salary, and incentives worth £8.6m (€9.9m / $13.6).

Since he took over from Bob Diamond, Jenkins has been fire-fighting a number of market manipulation and mis-selling scandals that have dented the banks reputation and will result in billions of pounds worth of costs and compensation.

This month, Jenkins sought to turnaround the Barclays' tattered reputation by sending out a memo to the bank's 140,000 employees saying performances and rewards would be judged against a set of core values, including integrity and respect for others.

"The notion that there must always be a choice between profits and a values-driven business is false. Barclays will only be a valuable business if it is a values-driven business," says Jenkins in the memo.

"[T]here might be some who don't feel they can fully buy into an approach which so squarely links performance to the upholding of our values. My message to those people is simple: Barclays is not the place for you. The rules have changed. You won't feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won't feel comfortable with you as colleagues," adds Jenkins.

Since then, IBTimes UK reported that Barclays is considering slashing and axing bonuses for its investment banking staff in order to offset the record fine and legal costs it paid for its role in the Libor manipulation scandal.

IBTimes UK has also exclusively reported that a jobs cull is already underway with at least 360 staff being made redundant from the UK investment bank alone.