LONDON â€" Barclays said on Thursday that it had appointed David Walker as its next chairman.
The announcement follows the resignation of the firm's current chairman, Marcus Agius, and a number of other senior executives, including Barclays' chief executive Robert E. Diamond Jr., in connection to the rate-rigging scandal that has engulfed the British bank.
By selecting Mr. Walker, a former top official at the Bank of England, the country's central bank, Barclays is attempting to answer questions about the internal culture at the firm, which led to the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.
Senior British officials had raised questions about the management style of Mr. Diamond, with concerns dating to his appointment to the top spot in late 2010, according to documents released by the Bank of England.
Scrutiny of Mr. Diamond and the firm's governance came months â€" and in one case, years â€" before Barclays came under fire for trying to manipulate key interest rates.
The appointment of Mr. Walker, who will take over as chairman at the beginning of November, comes in response to questions from regulators. The British banker will be in charge of finding a replacement for Mr. Diamond as chief executive for the bank.
Mr. Walker has decades of experience that he will have to draw upon for the new role.
He has led to government-mandated reviews into practices of the country's financial services industry, as well as an inquiry into the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 82 percent owned by the government after receiving a bailout.
He has called on banks to disclose more information about the bonuses that they pay top executives, and is well respected within the industry as a corporate governance expert.
“David commands great respect within the financial services industry and will bring immense experience, integrity and knowledge to the role,†Mr. Agius said in a statement.
Mr. Walker, 73, is the former chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and currently hold a senior adviser position at the American bank. He also has held senior posts at the Lloyds Banking Group and the pension firm Legal & General.
As part of the transition, Mr. Walker will become a non-executive director at Barclays from the beginning of Setpember, before assuming the chairmanship later this year. While the firm continues to search for a new chief executive, it is unlikely that a final decision will be made on who will take over the top spot until Mr. Walker assumes his responsibilities.
The British bank has moved quickly in finding a replacement for Mr. Agius, who was the first Barclays executive to resign over the Libor scandal.
After agreeing to a $450 million settlement with American and British authorities in late June in connection with the manipulation of Libor, Barclays has remained under fire from politicians on both sides of the Atlanti c.
Last month, Mr. Aguis said the firm's top priority was to find a new chairman before turning its attention to the search for a chief executive.
By appointing Mr. Walker, Barclays is hoping to draw a line under the Libor investigation, which has raised questions about the governance at the British bank.
Local regulators had highlighted problems with the firm's corporate governance, including efforts to avoid paying around $770 million in taxes and questioned some of the bank's accounting methods.
“Barclays often seems to be seeking to gain advantage through the use of complex structures, or through arguing for regulatory approaches, which are at the aggressive end of interpretation of the relevant rules and regulations,†Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, the country's regulator, said in the letter to Mr. Agius earlier this year.
