Bob Diamond (banker)

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Bob Diamond
Bob Diamond - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012.jpg
Diamond at the 2012 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland[1][2][3]
Born Robert Edward Diamond, Jr.
(1951-07-27) July 27, 1951 (age 61)[4][5]
Concord, Massachusetts[6]
Residence London[7][8]
Nationality American[5][9]
Alma mater Colby College (B.A., Economics)[10]
University of Connecticut (MBA)
Occupation Banker
Years active 1980 – present
Employer Morgan Stanley (1977-1992)
CS First Boston (1992-1996)
Barclays (1996-2012)[11]
Spouse(s) Jennifer[6][12]
Children Three - Two sons and a daughter[6][12]

Robert "Bob" Edward Diamond Jr. (born July 27, 1951)[4] is an American banker and former group chief executive of the British bank, Barclays Plc.[13]

Diamond, who holds a B.A. in Economics from Colby College, and an M.B.A from University of Connecticut; began his career as a lecturer, and entered the financial world in 1977, when he joined Morgan Stanley. He moved to CS First Boston in 1992, and later to Barclays in 1996. In 2010, he became its Deputy Group Chief Executive;[14] and in January 2011, succeeded John Varley as Group Chief Executive of Barclays.[15]

He has dual U.S.-U.K. citizenship, and was voted the 37th in the New Statesman’s annual survey of the world's 50 People Who Matter 2010.[16] He lives in New York City with his wife, Jennifer, and children.[17]

Diamond resigned as chief executive of Barclays on July 3, 2012, following controversy over manipulation of Libor interest rates by traders employed by the bank.[18][19]

Contents

Early years and education [edit]

Bob Diamond was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on July 27, 1951.[4] One of nine children,[5] Diamond grew up in a family of Irish Catholic background.[20] His parents, Anne and Robert Edward Diamond, Sr., were both teachers.[21]

He finished his schooling from Concord-Carlisle High School in 1969 and in 1973, graduated in B.A., Economics with honours from Colby College, Maine. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Colby.[22] He was awarded an MBA from the University of Connecticut Business School, graduating first in his class.[13]

Career [edit]

Early years and Morgan Stanley : 1976 to 1992 [edit]

He began his career as a lecturer at the School of Business, University of Connecticut from 1976-1977.[23]

Diamond joined Morgan Stanley in 1977 and held several positions. He rose to the post of managing director and head of fixed income trading division.

CS First Boston : 1992 to 1996 [edit]

Diamond joined CS First Boston in 1992. Based in Tokyo, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CS First Boston Pacific, responsible for Investment Banking, Equity, Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange for the Pacific region. Diamond was formerly Vice Chairman and Head of Global Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange. Based in New York, he was a member of the Executive Board and Operating Committee.

Barclays PLC : 1996 to 2012 [edit]

Diamond joined Barclays on July 4, 1996,[23] and in September 1997 became a member of the Executive Committee of the company, Britain's second largest banking group.[24] He was appointed chief executive of Corporate & Investment Banking and Wealth Management, comprising Barclays Capital, Barclays Corporate and Barclays Bank, and was an executive director of the boards of Barclays Plc and Barclays Bank Plc. Diamond led the effort to purchase key assets of Lehman Brothers after its bankruptcy in September 2008, giving Barclays a key and instant foothold in investment banking.[25]

Diamond became Deputy Group Chief Executive on October 1, 2010,[14] and then succeeded John Varley as Group Chief Executive on January 1, 2011.[15][26]

On July 2, 2012 Barclays' chairman, Marcus Agius, resigned following the heavy fine that Barclays suffered as a result of some of their company employees being involved in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, which became known as the LIBOR scandal.[27][28] Just 24 hours later, on July 3, Diamond resigned his post with immediate effect.[11]

Controversies [edit]

For details of the main controversies related to Barclays bank and its conduct during Diamond's tenure, including accusations of money laundering, tax avoidance and Libor manipulation, please see the main Barclays PLC article.

During his tenure at Barclays, Diamond received criticism for his level of pay, his perceived lack of humility or modesty, and for being the bank's chief executive or otherwise seen as responsible, at the time a number of malpractices were identified within the bank. Ultimately it was the finding of money market rate manipulation in 2012 that was the direct trigger for his departure.

In 2010, Diamond was described as "the unacceptable face" of banking by the then business secretary Lord Mandelson, citing Diamond's high level of pay (quoted as £63 million) and lack of humility.[29][30] In early 2011, Barclays announced that Diamond would receive an annual bonus of £6.5 million in 2011, the largest of any CEO of a British bank.[31]

In June 2012, Barclays was fined £59.5 million by the FSA (£290 million in total) for "serious, widespread breaches of City rules relating to the Libor and Euribor rates".[32][33] The bank had been found to have lied, sometimes to make a profit, and other times to make the bank look more secure during the financial crisis.[34] The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA), which levied a fine of £59.5 million (US$92.7 million), gave Barclays the biggest fine it had ever imposed in its history.[35] The FSA's director of enforcement described such behaviour as "completely unacceptable", adding "Libor is an incredibly important benchmark reference rate, and it is relied on for many, many hundreds of thousands of contracts all over the world."[34] Liberal Democrat politician Lord Oakeshott criticised Diamond, saying: "If he had any shame he would go. If the Barclays board has any backbone, they'll sack him."[34] The U.S. Department of Justice had also been involved in the investigation.[34] Diamond announced on June 29, 2012 that he would not resign over the bank's role in the fraud.[36] Diamond voluntarily gave up his bonus for 2012 after this was reported but stated he would not step down. However, following widespread anger at his refusal to step down and amidst concerns that his presence could be harmful to the Barclays brand, he resigned, on July 3, 2012, from the post of chief executive officer.[37]

In March 2013, Diamond was set to be paid about £2m ($3m) in July, a year after he left the bank following its Libor interest rate fixing scandal.[38]

Personal life [edit]

Diamond married his wife, Jennifer, an engineer from Michigan, in 1983.[39] They have three children. He is an avid sports fan, supporting the Red Sox in Baseball, Chelsea F.C. in soccer, the New England Patriots in American football, and the Boston Celtics in Basketball. Diamond is a Republican[40] and an adviser to Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson.[41]

Diamond is chairman of the board of trustees of Colby College in Waterville, Maine; chairman of Old Vic Productions Plc; trustee of The Mayor’s Fund for London; member of the advisory board, Judge Business School at Cambridge University; member of International Advisory Board, British–American Business Council; life member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and member of the Atlantic Council.[23]

In 2011 he was included in the 50 Most Influential ranking of Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Davos 2012: Day two, as it happened". Guardian. January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  2. ^ "Bob Diamond during the session 'Building Trust' at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, January 27, 2012, Davos, Switzerland.". World Economic Forum. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Executive profile - Bob Diamond, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012". World Economic Forum. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  4. ^ a b c "MPs grill Barclays boss". Daily Mail. January 12, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  5. ^ a b c "Big hitter - Bob Diamond, chief executive, Barclays Capital". Guardian. August 6, 2005. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  6. ^ a b c "Who is Bob Diamond? A quick CV". thisismoney.co.uk. September 8, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  7. ^ "Row grows over Bob Diamond's pay package as Barclays admits it will pay his U.S. tax bill for good". thisismoney.co.uk. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  8. ^ "Paying Bob Diamond's tax bill proves very expensive for Barclays". Guardian. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  9. ^ "Barclays boss reveals 'no jerks' rule". Guardian. December 30, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  10. ^ "Bob Diamond named CEO of Barclays". Guardian. September 7, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  11. ^ a b "Board changes", Barclay's press release, 03 Jul 2012.
  12. ^ a b "City limits". Guardian. February 16, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  13. ^ a b "Barclays Bank Plc , Executive profile - Robert E. Diamond". Barclays. Retrieved April 18, 2012. 
  14. ^ a b "John Varley to step down as Group Chief Executive to be succeeded by Robert E Diamond Jr". Newsroom.barclays.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012. 
  15. ^ a b Wilson, Harry (December 17, 2010). "Bob Diamond takes over as Barclays chief executive early". The Daily Telegraph (London). 
  16. ^ "37. Bob Diamond - 50 People Who Matter 2010". New Statesman. Retrieved October 11, 2010. 
  17. ^ ROSS SORKIN, ANDREW. "Robert Diamond’s Next Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2013. 
  18. ^ "Barclays boss Bob Diamond resigns amid Libor scandal". BBC News (London). July 3, 2012. 
  19. ^ "Bob Diamond resigns from Barclays: the full statement". The Daily Telegraph (London). July 3, 2012. 
  20. ^ "The Deal of the Century". esquire.com. September 11, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2012. 
  21. ^ "Bob Diamond on his job: Stressful? I begin each day by smiling". Mirror.co.uk. September 8, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2012. 
  22. ^ "Diamond Parries Attacks on Pay With Vow to Earn Public Trust". Bloomberg. December 1, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2012. 
  23. ^ a b c [1][dead link]
  24. ^ "about-us/bob-diamond", defunct Barclay's web page http://group.barclays.com/about-barclays/about-us/bob-diamond.
  25. ^ Sherman, Gabriel (September 21, 2008). "How a Lehman Trader Copes With Income Shrinkage". New York Magazine. Retrieved June 28, 2012. 
  26. ^ "Date of CEO succession brought forward", Barclay's press release, 17 Dec 2010.
  27. ^ "Barclays bank chairman Marcus Agius to resign". BBC News. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012. 
  28. ^ "Libor scandal: Who might have lost?". BBC News. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012. 
  29. ^ Langford, Mark, "Mandelson Attacks Bank Boss For £63m Salary", Sky News Online, 04 April 2010.
  30. ^ "Barclays boss Bob Diamond resigns amid Libor scandal", BBC.
  31. ^ "Barclays CEO Robert Diamond Awarded $10.6 Million Bonus". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012. 
  32. ^ Treanor, Jill (June 27, 2012). "Barclays chief Bob Diamond gives up 2012 bonus over £290m fine". The Guardian. Retrieved June 27, 2012. 
  33. ^ "Barclays to pay over 450 million dollars to settle charges regarding LIBOR". Xinhua. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012. 
  34. ^ a b c d "Barclays fined for attempts to manipulate Libor rates". BBC News (BBC). June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012. 
  35. ^ "Barclays to pay largest civil fine in CFTC history". CBS News. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012. 
  36. ^ "Barclays boss Bob Diamond says he will not resign". BBC News (BBC). June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012. 
  37. ^ "Bob Diamond". 4 July 2012. 
  38. ^ http://www.news24.com/fin24/Companies/Financial-Services/3m-payout-for-ex-Barclays-boss-Diamond-20130308
  39. ^ Duncan, Hugo. "Backlash over Barclays' £70m man: Five-year package means the new chief could make a fortune (again)". Daily Mail (London). 
  40. ^ Mychasuk, Emiliya (June 19, 2008). "Diamond drives the McCain bus". FT.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012. 
  41. ^ Walsh, Dominic (April 19, 2008). "Boris Johnson says Bob Diamond is a mayors best friend". The Times (London). 

External links [edit]

Business positions
Preceded by
John Silvester Varley		 Group Chief Executive of Barclays plc
Jan 1, 2011 – July 3, 2012		 Succeeded by
Antony Jenkins
Division and subsidiaries
Historical components
and acquisitions
Corporate Directors
Other
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