Barclays chairman to be Rothschild veteran as McFarlane retires

The bank announced the appointment of current Rothschild & Co deputy chairman Nigel Higgins less than an hour after Sky News reported that the board had settled on his name as Mr McFarlane’s replacement.

Barclays said he would join as a non-executive director in March before assuming the role as chairman following its AGM on 2 May.

Confirmation of the appointment may place the bank on a firmer collision course with an increasingly hostile activist shareholder.

Edward Bramson, whose Sherborne Investors vehicle took a 5.2% stake in the bank earlier this year, is demanding Barclays shrink its investment banking operations.

Crawford Gillies, the senior independent director who led the search for the successor to Mr McFarlane, thanked him for his three-and-a-half years of service to the bank, saying he had put Barclays “on a path to growth”.

He said: “The Barclays board established demanding criteria for identifying a new chairman, and that meant an exacting and very careful search process.

“In Nigel Higgins we have found an ideal candidate. He is a hugely respected banker, a strategic thinker, someone with extensive international experience, and he has a strong positive leadership style.”

Mr McFarlane had joined Barclays with a pledge to double its share price.

It was 32% lower at the close of trading on Thursday than when he made the promise.

Mr McFarlane welcomed the appointment – adding it had been a “difficult choice” to leave.

Mr Higgins said: “Succeeding John McFarlane, who has done such a sterling job during a period of great change at Barclays, is a huge honour.”