Abide by new rules or leave, says Barclays boss

17th Jan 2013 09:28

Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins has given employees an ultimatum - adhere to the bank's strict new ethical code of conduct or find another job. In a memo to the bank's 140,000 employees, obtained by Sky News, Jenkins outlined five core values to be followed: respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship.He said they would be used to assess the performance of employees so Barclays could become "a valuable business" in future. "I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of you, no matter in which area of the business or country you work, will enthusiastically support this move," he said."But there might be some who don't feel they can fully buy in to an approach which so squarely links performance to the upholding of our values."My message to those people is simple: Barclays is not the place for you. The rules have changed. You won't feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won't feel comfortable with you as colleagues."The memo is the most striking statement from Jenkins about his business strategy since he was took over from Bob Diamond as Chief Executive last August. It comes in the wake of a string of scandals at Barclays as it shakes up its investment banking business, streamlines the company and cuts jobs.The bank's image also took a beating when Diamond quit Barclays after it was fined £290m by US and UK regulators for the manipulating the key interbank borrowing rate Libor.Jenkins admit Barclays experienced a difficult 2012. He said the industry "had lost its way" and had become "too aggressive, too focused on the short term, too disconnected from the needs of our customers and clients, and wider society. We were not immune at Barclays from these mistakes."He is due to release more detail about his commercial priorities alongside the company's annual results on February 12th. RD