LIBOR scandal takes down another Barclays exec

Barclays's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jerry del Missier has now quit, leaving the bank's boardroom looking a little empty following the resignation of both its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer over the last few days.

Del Missier, who was appointed as COO just last month, is to follow in the footsteps of his boss, Bob Diamond, who called it quits on Tuesday morning following intense pressure from politicians after the bank was found guilty of manipulating interbank lending rates.

Shares in Barclays, which had performed strongly in early trading, pared gains shortly after del Missier's departure. There were trading 1.31% higher at 170.6p by 15:05, having reached 176.52p in morning trade.

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Del Missier said: "My 15 years at Barclays have been a time of great accomplishment, both for me personally and for the bank. I am grateful for the opportunities that were provided to me and proud of what we achieved. We built one of the premier global investment banks from scratch - something that we are all very proud of.

"The firm is as strong today as it ever has been and is incredibly well placed to succeed within the post financial reform competitive landscape."

It was revealed last Wednesday that the bank is to pay a £290m fine to UK and US regulators after it was found attempting to control submissions for the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) to benefit the bank's interest rate derivatives traders.

LIBOR and the EURIBOR are benchmark reference rates that indicate the interest rate that banks charge when lending to each other.

While Diamond's resignation took place with immediate effect, Chairman Marcus Agius, who announced his resignation on Friday, will continue full-time in his position until Diamond's successor can be found.

BC