Prudential could end 172-year presence in the UK as it comes under attack from billionaire US tycoon
The boss of Barclays is preparing to stand down after a storm of controversy over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Jes Staley has reportedly told colleagues he will depart before the end of next year.
It has emerged less than a fortnight after Barclays revealed two regulators started probing whether Staley, 63, fully declared his relationship with Epstein to the board.
London-listed Prudential already cut ties with its European savings and investment business M&G last year, floating M&G on the stock market as a separate firm
The chief executive’s plans to depart were already in the works and the investigations are not the main reason for his exit, the Financial Times claimed, but the recent controversy is said to have ‘focused minds’, with Barclays seeking a replacement.
This month Barclays said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority were examining whether Staley had admitted to the true extent of his friendship.
Epstein was a client of the bank boss when Staley was at Wall Street bank JP Morgan from 2000 to 2013.
The FCA opened a probe after JP Morgan supplied it with emails. Barclays said an internal review had no concerns over the way Staley had described his dealings.