Barclays CEO to step down

The CEO of Barclays, Jes Staley, is stepping down with immediate effect following an investigation by British regulators into his relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) was disclosed by Barclays in early 2020 and focused on how Staley had characterized the relationship to his employer.

Barclays and Staley were made aware on Friday evening by the FCA and the PRA of the preliminary conclusions of their investigation.

Recently the company also released s statement saying, "In view of those conclusions, and Staley's intention to contest them, the board and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as group chief executive and as a director of Barclays."

The statement further added, "It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019," the bank added, saying it was not appropriate for it to comment further.

Epstein, a multimillionaire and convicted paedophile who was charged with sex trafficking by US federal prosecutors, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Staley had been running Barclays since late 2015. Prior to that, he worked for more than 30 years at JPMorgan where he served as head of its investment banking division. His relationship with Epstein dated back to 2000 when he became head of JPMorgan's private bank.