Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Scandal-hit Barclays appoints new chairman ... Industry veteran David Walker to steer British bank in the aftermath of Libor crisis.

Ahead of the announcement, Barclays shares closed flat at 178.95 pence on London's FTSE 100 index [GALLO/GETTY]

Barclays has named David Walker, a former Bank of England and treasury official, as its new chairman in an effort to restore its top management team and rebuild its reputation after it became embroiled in a rate rigging scandal.

The British bank said on Thursday that Walker, a corporate governance expert with extensive banking and investment experience, would become a non-executive director on September 1, and succeed Marcus Agius as chairman two months later.

The departing Agius on Thursday said 'Barclays is fortunate to have attracted' Walker to succeed him as chairman.

'He will be taking over at a time when Barclays universal banking model is delivering a strong performance in difficult markets. I wish him every success as he leads Barclays at this important time,' he said.

Barclays said Walker, 72, would be paid $1.1m a year, 13 per cent of which would be in the form of shares in the bank.

Libor scandal

Barclays was fined $453m in June for manipulating Libor interbank lending rates in a scandal which unearthed deep problems in its relations with regulators, who have accused the lender of frequently being too aggressive.

It is also seeking a new chief executive after Bob Diamond resigned under pressure from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britian's financial regulator, and the Bank of England, which moved in response to a public and political outcry over the scandal.

Walker, who has worked at Britain's treasury and is presently a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley, said he was looking forward to playing his part 'in taking the company forward after recent events'.

He added in Thursday's statement that was issued after the close of London markets: 'The UK needs a strong financial services sector and Barclays has a crucial role to play in ensuring that this country has a successful, well-governed banking industry.'

Since 2007, Walker has completed two independent reports and made recommendations regarding the private equity industry and corporate governance at financial institutions.

He also co-led the independent review of the report that the FSA produced into the failure of Royal Bank of Scotland.

In a letter to Barclays staff Agius said Walker would join in the process to find a new CEO for the bank.

Shares in Barclays, which have lost 12 per cent of their value over the last three months, closed at 179 pence on London's benchmark FTSE 100, which gained 0.10 per cent to 5,851.51 points.

Source: Agencies