Robert E. Diamond Jr., who built Barclays PLC into a global powerhouse in investment banking and has been criticized for his lavish pay, will become chief executive next year, the company announced Tuesday.
Diamond, branded "the unacceptable face of banking" by a former government minister, will succeed John Varley, who guided Barclays through the credit crisis without resorting to a government bailout.
Diamond will take over as CEO on March 31 after 14 years with the company.
The 59-year-old American's rise comes as governments review regulation, including a possibly momentous move in Britain to force lenders to divorce investment banking from retail operations. At home, Barclays may also feel pressure from the government's austerity drive which will shrink public spending.
Following its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' U.S. operations, Barclays has become heavily dependent on the investment banking activity which is now Diamond's domain.
Barclays Capital now commands 60 percent of the company's capital needs, a share that may increase due to regulatory changes, yet is likely to be less profitable than the Barclays retail side, Evolution Securities said in a research note.
Diamond's salary will be 1.35 million pounds ($2.08 million) with bonuses of up to 250 percent of that figure. The bank said it also intended to award a long term, performance-based share incentive of 500 percent of base salary in 2011.
Diamond was paid 250,000 pounds last year and waived his bonus, but he reportedly also gained 26.8 million pounds from his shares in Barclays Global Investors when it was sold to Blackrock fund manages.