SFO inquiry for new Barclays CEO

Analyst Ralph Silva told ITV News that Barclays was is the "most stressful position" it had ever been in and likened the task facing new CEO Antony Jenkins as "coming into a 747 with three engines that are broken" (a Boeing 747 usually has four engines).

Antony Jenkins will be paid £1.1 million a year in the role, with a package including potential annual bonuses of up to 250% of salary and long term incentive shares worth a possible £4.4 million each year.

Barclays' shares opened 1% lower today following the news that the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation into payments made between the bank and Middle East investors.

Antony Jenkins, the new Chief Executive of Barclays, said: "I am very proud to have been asked to lead Barclays, where I began my career nearly 30 years ago.

"Barclays is a strong universal bank, with many assets, including market leading businesses; talented and engaged staff; and long-standing clients and customers.

"But we have made serious mistakes in recent years and clearly failed to keep pace with our stakeholders' expectations.

"We have an obligation to all of those stakeholders – customers, clients, shareholders, colleagues and broader society – and a unique opportunity to restore Barclays reputation by making it the "go to" bank in all of our chosen markets.

"That journey will take time, we have much to do, and I look forward to getting started immediately."

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna has welcomed Antony Jenkins' appointment as the new Barclays chief executive:

Anthony Jenkins takes the post of Barclays chief executive with immediate effect.

Barclays has endured one of the most turbulent periods in its history after it was fined £290 million by UK and US regulators for manipulating Libor, an interbank lending rate which affects mortgages and loans.

The affair led to the departure of chief executive Bob Diamond, chairman Marcus Agius and chief operating officer Jerry del Missier.

It also triggered a fierce debate in Westminster over banking ethics and has spawned several closely-watched hearings before the Treasury Select Committee.

Since then, Barclays has been caught up in a separate investigation, as it faces a potential £450 million bill for mis-selling complex financial products to unwitting small businesses.

The inquiry into Barclays comes after a similar investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which was revealed last month

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has more powers to prosecute than the FSA, the City watchdog, so the investigation moves the accusations into another realm.

Whereas the FSA's investigation was centred on four present and past senior staff, including finance director Chris Lucas, the SFO's probe is currently not thought to be focusing on any individuals.