The chair of Barclays’ remuneration committee, Sir John Sutherland, received short shrift from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards as he defended the bank’s practices.
Commission chair Andrew Tyrie said Sutherland appeared unrepentant regarding Diamond’s “absolutely extraordinary” bonus.
The latter had told the commission Diamond deserved recognition for his work as Barclays CEO, a position he relinquished last summer at the height of the LIBOR scandal.
Sutherland’s predecessor as remuneration committee chair, Alison Carnwath, had earlier told the commission that Barclays’ bonuses were at the top end of the scale and that Diamond was reluctant to accept this fact.
Carnwath resigned her position last summer.
Sutherland revealed little about the level of bonus likely to be awarded to new CEO Antony Jenkins, who has promised to clean up the bank’s image. He also received criticism from MPs for defending Barclays’ practices regarding the sale of payment protection insurance, according to the Financial Times.
