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Barclays boss quits
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November 27, 1998: 6:14 a.m. ET
Bank chief announces surprise departure, market puzzled by implications
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Barclays, the U.K.'s second-largest bank, stunned the stock market Friday by announcing the immediate resignation of chief executive Martin Taylor.
The company also said that full-year pre-tax profits would be not less than 1.9 billion pounds ($3.2 billion), below consensus estimates of 2.2 billion pounds.
The market didn't like either revelation, sending Barclays (BARC) shares plummeting 8 percent to 1,374 pence.
The abrupt resignation of Taylor "leaves a management vacuum" according to one analyst.
The unexpected and sudden nature of Taylor's departure left analysts concerned. "There's a lingering suspicion of losses at Barclays Capital," according to Chris Williams at financial brokerage Fox-Pitt Kelton.
In September Barclays revealed a $250 million hit from its exposure to the collapsing Russian market.
Some analysts said the resignation could indicate a difference of opinion at the bank over whether it should retain any of its capital markets business.
Others speculated the bank could come into play, given the current management flux.
Williams described the departure as a short-term setback, because Taylor, 46, "was perceived as the most aggressive of the new breed of bank executives."
Analysts pointed out that Taylor had not remained long at his previous two posts: as chief executive of textiles group Courtaulds (CTX), and as a journalist with the Financial Times.
"A person with his intellectual capacity probably gets bored quickly," said one analyst.
Deputy chairman Sir Peter Middleton will take over as chief executive until a replacement is appointed.
Taylor gave no clue to his future plans, although a job in government may await him. He is known to be close to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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Barclays
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