Carnwath leaves Barclays as Del Missier gets £8.8m
EMBATTLED bank Barclays suffered another significant loss yesterday as a third board member resigned in the wake of mounting turmoil following the devastating Libor scandal.
Non-executive director Alison Carnwath left the bank after almost two years on the board citing time pressures, as she holds numerous other directorships across the City.
Although she has not been implicated in any Libor wrongdoing, it is thought that the role became increasingly hectic and pressured following the scandal, which saw chief executive Bob Diamond and chairman Marcus Agius both tender their resignations.
Carnwath resigned almost immediately after being appointed to the committee which will hear the report into Barclays culture and practices being compiled over the next nine months by top lawyer Anthony Salz.
The role came on top of her positions on the bank’s nominations committee and remuneration committee, leaving a gap in all three groups.
But Barclays does not have a set target number of non-executive directors, so it is not yet known when her vacancy on the board or the committees will be filled.
Carnwath thanked her colleagues on the board in her resignation statement, and explained that “with regret I have concluded that I am no longer able to devote sufficient time to my role as a director of Barclays given my other commitments”.
Those other commitments are wide and varied – Carnwath has chaired FTSE 100 firm Land Securities since 2008, been non-executive director of Man Group since 2001, and director of Zurich insurance since March of this year.
In addition, she is a senior adviser at Evercore Partners, non-executive director at Isis Equity Partners and board member of PACCAR.
Meanwhile Sky News reported outgoing chief operating officer Jerry del Missier has been awarded an £8.75m severance package as part of a long-term pay incentive, despite resigning over his role in instructing traders to lower the bank’s Libor submissions in 2008.