London - Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond, who
resigned over a rate-rigging scandal, is not claiming bonuses worth £20m, the
bank's chairperson said on Wednesday.
"Bob Diamond has voluntarily decided to forego any
deferred consideration and any deferred bonuses to which he would otherwise
have been entitled," chairperson Marcus Agius told a British parliamentary
committee.
Asked by the Treasury Select Committee about the value of
the payoff Diamond has waived, Agius said: "The maximum amount would be
£20m."
In a separate statement, Barclays which is the parent
company of local bank Absa Group [JSE:ASA] said Diamond would still receive up
to 12 months' salary, pension allowance and other benefits.
Diamond was one of the world's highest paid bankers, earning
a package worth £17.7m last year.
He and Agius both resigned last week over revelations that
Barclays traders attempted to manipulate key inter-bank lending rates, but
Agius is staying on to lead the search for Diamond's replacement.
Barclays was fined £290m last month by British and US
regulators for the attempted rigging of the Libor inter-bank lending rate and
Euribor, its eurozone equivalent.
The Barclays statement said Diamond had "voluntarily
offered to waive all of his unvested deferred bonus awards and long term
incentive share awards.
"This is in addition to his previous decision to forgo
any consideration for an annual bonus this year."
The bank added that Diamond has also agreed to forgo his
contractual entitlement to tax equalisation.
"Despite having no personal culpability, he recognises
more than anyone the negative attention that they have generated and has taken
characteristically strong action to address that," Agius said of Diamond
in the statement.
Diamond himself wrote: "It is my hope that my decision
to step down and today's agreement on my remuneration will help close this
chapter and allow Barclays to move forward and prosper."
The scandal has claimed the job of Barclays' chief operating
officer Jerry del Missier as well as those of Diamond and Agius, and threatens
to engulf other banks.
British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the decision
by Diamond to forgo his bonus this year.
“I think the decision to forego the bonus is a sign that
that they understand public concerns and that they understand that there’s a
need for a change in the culture of banking,” Cameron’s spokesman told
reporters.
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