BARCLAYS has promoted two of its top consumer banking bosses to its executive committee as the British bank’s new boss puts more focus on traditional banking after criticism of its rapid growth in higher risk investment banking.
Under the rejig, Ashok Vaswani will become global head of retail and business banking products and services, widening his current UK role.
Antony Jenkins, who took over as chief executive a month ago after an interest rate rigging scandal rocked Barclays and forced the resignations of its CEO and chairman, is expected to put more focus back on retail banking after more than a decade of expansion in investment banking.
“These changes reflect the importance of our retail businesses for Barclays and will make for a better balance between business and functional representation on the executive committee,” Jenkins said.
Vaswani, a cricket fan who was born and educated in India, has had a rapid ascent since joining Barclays in 2010 to run its European credit cards. He was promoted to manage the bank in Africa and then handed control of the core UK retail and business banking business.
Vaswani spent 20 years at Citigroup, where he worked with Jenkins, who spent 16 years at the US bank before being poached back to rejoin Barclays in 2006.
Jenkins is scrapping the title of CEO of retail and business banking, the position he held before being promoted to group CEO, which also oversaw its Barclaycard credit card business.
Instead, Vaswani and Barclaycard CEO Valerie Soranno Keating will both join the executive committee.
American Keating, 48, joined Barclays in June 2009 after 16 years at American Express.
Vaswani, 51, was previously a partner at New York-based private equity firm Brysam Global Partners, focused on building retail financial service businesses in emerging markets. At Citi he worked in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America, including as CEO of its consumer bank in Asia-Pacific.
Jenkins’ background is in retail banking and credit cards, and a review he will unveil in February on the future size and shape of Barclays is expected to see investment banking streamlined and cuts made in European and corporate banking arms.
The executive committee sits just below the board, and will now have 10 people, including Jenkins, Finance Director Chris Lucas and Rich Ricci, head of corporate and investment banking.
