As if things weren’t confusing enough for Barclays Bank shareholders we now learn that deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director (SID) Sir Michael Rake is to leave to take up the Chairmanship of another financial services company (in addition to his role as Chairman of BT).
This news came in the same week as the sacking of Chief Executive Antony Jenkins – whose removal, according to Chairman John McFarlane, was orchestrated by Sir Michael.
As Oscar Wild would have said – “to lose one senior board member may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness”
John McFarlane took on the role of acting Chief Executive in addition to his role as Chairman of the Bank as the board struggles to formulate a clear strategy for its investment division – whose head, Tom King, has indicated that he is looking to leave the Bank early next year.
It will be interesting to watch Sir Michael Rake’s progress as he takes up his new role – the UK Corporate Governance Code does not forbid anyone from Chairing two listed companies but it does encourage them to ensure that they are able to devote sufficient time to discharge their responsibilities effectively.
