Irishman Barrett on verge of landing top job at banking giant Barclay's

BARCLAY'S chief executive, Irishman Matt Barrett, is poised to become chairman of the banking giant earlier than expected, it was reported yesterday.

Succession plans in place since last October said that the Kerry-born Mr Barrett would replace Peter Middleton as chairman at the end of the year with former finance director John Varley stepping into the chief executive's role.

However, The Sunday Telegraph said Barclays would announce this week that Mr Middleton's retirement had been moved to September ending five years as chairman. The report said shareholders had been concerned about the year-long wait for Mr Varley to take on the top job, while Mr Middleton's departure at the end of the year, rather than at the annual meeting in May, was also seen as unusual.

It is thought Mr Middleton had decided to move his retirement date forward because a number of corporate governance issues were close to being resolved.

These include shareholder concerns over Mr Barrett's switch from chief executive to chairman, a move that goes against boardroom best practice.

Barclays said in October that as "one of the world's most senior bankers", Mr Barrett's level of experience met the requirement of exceptional circumstances allowed for in the Higgs Review on corporate governance.

The shake-up is likely to see non-executive board member Nigel Rudd step up to become deputy chairman. He is also currently chairman of retailer Boots and glassmaker Pilkington.

Barclay's declined to comment on the report yesterday. Mr Barrett has been a controversial figure at the bank since he joined some years ago.

His pay has been criticised as excessive by corporate governance activists and earlier this year he told a British parliamentary committee that he told his children not to use credit cards as they were too expensive.