Barclays Bob Diamond set for £2m pay-off

Marcus Agius, the outgoing Barclays chairman has revealed that he did meet with Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England on Monday 2nd July in the evening who advised him that the central bank felt Bob Diamond should resign.

Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Mr Agius, who has also resigned but will remain in his position until he has helped to find Mr Diamond’s successor as chief executive, said he was “truly sorry” for what had happened and that he had resigned because he was “ultimately responsible for the reputation of the bank".

He said that the board had no knowledge of the Libor manipulation and that the actions did not reflect the wider culture of the bank.

Mr Agius confirmed that Mr Diamond will receive his full salary and benefits worth over £2 million but has agreed to forego bonuses worth up to £20 million. Mr Diamond has a six month notice period as part of his contract.

Mr Agius said that Mr Diamond resigned because "it became clear he had lost the support of his regulators".

He visited Mr Diamond following his meeting with Sir Mervyn King to pass on the views of the Bank of England. Mr Diamond resigned the following morning.

The TSC questioned Mr Agius on the view of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from its annual review of the bank that the bank was aggressive in the way it worked and that the data given on bank stress tests was misleading.

The committee quoted a letter from the FSA saying that: "Barclays has a tendency continually to seek advantage from complex structures or favourable regulatory interpretations".

Mr Agius told the TSC that he had given Mr Diamond details of the FSA’s concerns. This contradicted Mr Diamond’s comments in front of the TSC last week when he said that he had not.

Free guide to savings and investments

Follow Myfinances.co.uk on Twitter: @news_myfinances

Sign up to the Myfinances.co.uk newsletter to receive the latest financial news direct to your inbox.