Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has resigned with immediate effect.
The move came after the bank was fined for trying to manipulate inter-bank lending rates, for its financial benefit, sparking a government inquiry and calls for criminal investigations. Chairman Marcus Agius, who has also announced his resignation, will now take over the running of Barclays until a replacement is found.
It is a classic case of pride before the fall. Diamond famously defended bankers and their salaries in the face of popular revulsion towards the lifestyle and attitudes of some banking executives in the wake of the global financial crisis. Under the hard-charging Diamond, Barclays was feted as an institution that not only survived the financial crises, but also used it as an opportunity to flourish. We now know that some of that success can be contributed to seemingly underhand dealings.
It must be hoped that the humiliating fall of one of the most powerful bankers in the world will be the salutary lesson that some executives seem to have, so far, failed to learn — that banking is an essential service to the global economy that must be offered honestly. Financial services are not there for some to unreasonably and unfairly line their pockets.
Many other global financial institutions have been implicated in the rate-fixing scandal. Their shareholders must ensure that those executives who are guilty of impropriety, follow Diamond.
