Barclays Said to Tap Diamond as CEO Replacing Varley

Barclays Plc, Britain’s third- largest bank, is poised to name President Robert Diamond as Chief Executive Officer John Varley’s successor, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The bank may announce the decision as soon as today, the person said, declining to be identified because the move isn’t yet public. Diamond, 59, leads the London-based company’s investment banking unit, Barclays Capital.
Massachusetts-born Diamond has led Barclays’s investment- banking expansion, including the 2008 purchase of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s U.S. operations. His Barclays Capital unit accounted for 40 percent of the company’s 29.1 billion pound ($44.7 billion) total revenue last year.
“He’s been the de-facto head of Barclays for many years,” said Peter Swan, professor of finance at the Australian School of Business in Sydney, part of the University of New South Wales. “It makes sense to give the person who effectively controls the bank the formal title.”
The Wall Street Journal reported the shift yesterday, saying Varley, 54, informed the board he is ready to step down. Barclays spokesman Michael O’Looney in New York declined to comment.
Barclays Capital posted revenue of 11.6 billion pounds last year, up from 5.2 billion pounds in 2008. Diamond, who joined Barclays in 1996, and Varley are defending the bank against an $11 billion claim by bankrupt Lehman alleging Barclays made an undisclosed windfall on the acquisition of Lehman’s brokerage business.
Asia Expansion
Diamond has embarked upon an expansion in Asia, hiring at least eight managing directors in Hong Kong since March from rivals including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. Barclays said yesterday it hired former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Helge Weiner-Trapness as head of its financial institutions group for Asia-Pacific.
Barclays Capital ranks 13th in underwriting public stock sales in the Asia-Pacific region this year, up from 17th in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Separately, HSBC Holdings Plc Chairman Stephen Green is leaving the bank to become trade minister for the U.K. government, British Broadcasting Corp. Business Editor Robert Peston reported on his blog, without attribution.
The announcement of Green’s appointment will be made today, the BBC said. Gareth Hewett, a spokesman at HSBC in Hong Kong, declined to comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Scheer in New York at dscheer@bloomberg.net.