Barclays three top executives forgo 1990 bonus

The trio of top executives at British bank Barclays, including Chief Executive John Varley and President Bob Diamond, will forgo a cash bonus for 2009, a person familiar with the matter said.

The three executives on the board, which also includes Finance Director Chris Lucas, are set to take all their 2009 bonus in shares spread over several years.

The move follows a backlash against bonuses among the public and politicians. Barclays did not take any direct state help during the financial crisis, but will seek to head off potential anger at big payouts so soon after Britain and other governments supported the industry.

Barclays declined to comment. It has said it will follow G20 guidelines on reforming pay structures.

Barcalys Capital, the investment bank headed by Diamond, is expected to cut the ratio it pays staff as a percentage of revenue to about 38 pct for 2009, from 44 percent in 2008.

It paid about 2.3 billion pounds in compensation last year, representing about 44 percent of income, up from a ratio of 41 percent in 2007 before revenues were depressed by the financial crisis.

The investment bank increased base salaries for investment bankers during 2009, which it said was in line with G20 proposals to change the structure of pay.

It is expected to implement other measures including paying more of a bonus in shares spread over several years with an ability to claw back some of the payment.

Barclays is set to post an annual profit of about 11 billion pounds next week, potentially the highest for any bank outside China thanks to gains on the sale of its asset management arm.

Source: Reuters