FT's former CEO in race for Barclays top job

London - The former chief executive of the Financial Times, Rona Fairhead, and the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Howard Davies, are contesting to be Barclays' next chair, the Sunday Times reported, citing sources.

Fairhead, who is a non-executive director at rival bank HSBC, is among those short-listed for the top position at Barclays, the Times quoted sources close to the bank as saying.

The Times said Davies, who was also the head of the Financial Services Authority, Britain's former financial regulator, is also believed to be in the running.

John Sunderland, a non-executive director at Barclays, was in April appointed to lead the search for a potential successor to chair David Walker.

Walker, who spearheaded an overhaul of Barclays' management following the Libor scandal, replaced Marcus Agius as chair in 2012 and was expected to serve for a maximum of three years.

While a handful of other names were still in contention, a final decision was not expected until Christmas, the Times said.

Barclays could not immediately be reached for comment outside of regular business hours in Britain.