Barclays chief financial officer to step down

British bank Barclays said chief financial officer Chris Lucas will resign for health reasons at the end of this week, six months earlier than planned.

Mr Lucas (52) will step down from the board and as group finance director on August 16th, the London-based company said in a statement today. Peter Estlin, group financial controller, will be acting chief financial officer until October 15th, when Tushar Morzaria (44) will take over the post.

“Whilst I am saddened that his health has forced this decision on him sooner than either of us would have wished, I respect his decision and wish him well in the future,” Barclays chairman David Walker said in the statement. “He has successfully navigated Barclays’s finances through one of the most difficult periods in its history.”

Mr Lucas, the last of former chief executive Robert Diamond’s senior managers to depart, is leaving ahead of a planned £5.8 billion rights offering, which stands to be the biggest by a UK bank since Lloyds Banking Group’s £13.5 billion-pound sale in 2009.

CEO Antony Jenkins (52) is selling the shares after financial regulators identified a £12.8 billion capital hole at the bank.

Mr Morzaria, the executive hired last month from JPMorgan Chase and Co, will join the board on October 15th, Barclays said.

Mr Lucas, who had initially planned to retire in February, cited his health as a “key factor” behind his decision. “I want to do the right thing by Barclays, my family, and myself, and therefore I have reached the difficult decision to step down sooner,” he said in the statement. “I feel confident that I leave Barclays financially robust and well placed to continue to serve its customers, clients, shareholders and other stakeholders.”

Mr Lucas was among four past and present employees to be probed by regulators over whether Barclays adequately disclosed fees paid to the Qatar Investment Authority as part of a £7 billion fundraising during the financial crisis, a move that helped the lender avoid taking government money. Barclays said last month that it’s contesting the probe’s findings. (Bloomberg)