LONDON â€" It pays to be a Barclays banker.
Despite the bank’s weak profit and legal woes, top executives at Barclays have been richly rewarded in the years since the financial crisis.
In the latest example, the British bank disclosed on Wednesday that its investment banking head, Rich Ricci, had cashed in $26 million of deferred shares. He was awarded the shares â€" some 5.7 million â€" as part of his bonus between 2009 and 2011.
The current chief executive Antony P. Jenkins, who took over last year in the wake of the rate-rigging scandal â€" received 5.6 million pounds of stock, cashing in 2.9 million pounds to pay the tax liability. Chris Lucas, the finance chief, got 1.2 million pounds worth of stock and collected 640,000 pounds of it.
The payouts come at a difficult time for Barclays. While the stock was awarded before 2012, the compensation may still give additional fodder for critics, who have complained about the industry’s outsize pay packages.
Barclays, in particular, has been under scrutiny in recent years. Early last, shareholders criticized the company for awarding its then chief executive, Robert Diamond, $10 million in 2011, despite flagging profits.
The rate-rigging scandal and other legal woes have only intensified the pay controversy.
Mr. Ricci’s name surfaced in relation to the rate manipulation inquiry. Mr. Lucas is one of four current and former Barclays executives who have been ensnared by a separate investigation into the bank’s capital-raising efforts during the financial crisis.
In recent months, Barclays has moved to overhaul its pay practices. It has also clawed back pay in response to the rate-rigging case.
Mr. Jenkins in February said he would forgo his bonus for last year following the recent missteps. The h bank said earlier this month that 428 of its staff members still earned more than $1.5 million in 2012 and that five bankers earned more than $7.5 million each last year, down from 17 in 2011.
On Wednesday, Barclays reiterated that its remuneration policy has now been revised “and all future incentive awards, short and long-term, will be based on the new principles that have been set out.â€
