Barclays Boss To Head Major Business Charity

The chief executive of Barclays is being lined up take the helm of the charity Business in the Community (BitC), less than 18 months after the bank became embroiled in a series of reputational crises.

Sky News understands that Antony Jenkins is to become the next chairman of BitC, which is a member of The Prince’s Charities, the group of not-for-profit organisations of which Prince Charles is the president.

Mr Jenkins’ appointment has yet to be finalised but is likely to be imminently, one insider said on Wednesday.

If he is confirmed to the post, it would see him replacing Mark Price, the boss of Waitrose and deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, who is due to step down in January.

Insiders said on Wednesday that they expected Mr Jenkins to join the charity’s board in the spring of next year, and take over the chairmanship in January 2015.

The arrival of Mr Jenkins at BitC would underpin his credentials as a corporate leader determined to hone his own ethical credentials as well as those of Barclays and the broader business community.

Since replacing Bob Diamond as the bank’s chief executive last year, Mr Jenkins has sought to begin rebuilding its reputation, announcing a string of initiatives reflecting his attempt to establish it as “the go-to bank”.

He has, however, been confronted with a number of ongoing regulatory probes into past misdeeds, including the circumstances of its bailout by Middle Eastern shareholders in 2008 and a widening investigation into potential manipulation of foreign exchange markets by traders working for Barclays and other banks.

The news of Mr Jenkins’ prospective appointment at BitC also comes as the unfolding scandal at the Co-operative Bank threatens to inflict further damage on the industry’s battered image.

Political rows over energy provision, payday lending and fraudulent claims by public sector outsourcers have deepened the sense of mistrust between the public and the business community.

BitC is the largest business-led charity of its kind in the UK, engaging in a broad range of education and training projects aimed at deepening companies’ commitment to corporate social responsibility.

It has 850 members, who collectively employ more than 16m people, according to BitC’s website .

Among its initiatives are Ban the Box, which encourages companies to give job applicants a second chance by not asking about previous criminal convictions; and Workwell, a programme focused on improving understanding of workplace health.

Mr Jenkins’ appointment has been backed unanimously by the BitC board although some observers may question whether the charity will serve as a convenient platform for him to try to detoxify the Barclays brand.

Last week, the bank axed 1700 jobs across its UK branch networks as customers increasingly shift to using digital services, with thousands more likely to follow in the coming years.

Barclays already has an association with BitC as one of its corporate partners, while John Union, the head of the bank’s Welsh operations, is a member of the charity’s board.

Among the other directors of BitC are John Cridland, director general of the CBI; Sir Richard Lambert, his predecessor; Chris Hyman, the departing chief executive of Serco, the troubled outsourcing group; and Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid.

Sir Richard has also taken on a role as the chair of a new panel aimed at devising a new professional standards body for the banking industry.

Among the other senior businesspeople who have occupied the BitC chairmanship are Sir Stuart Rose, former chairman of Marks & Spencer, and Sir Mike Rake, who chairs BT Group and is the CBI’s current president.

Barclays and BitC both declined to comment on Wednesday.