Bob Diamond, Barclays ex-CEO faced the scrutiny of MPs today. He didn't perform well. He failed to deliver convincing answers to basic questions about whether or not he knew about fixing the LIBOR rate. His tactics of expressing lack of knowledge while referring to everyone in a chummy fashion, using their first name, were badly misjudged. He looked to me to be either poorly prepared or contemptuous of the questioning. Neither approach was appropriate.
He claimed to have only been only made aware of the malpractice a few days before the FSA report and the £290million fine levied last week. He said he felt "physically ill" when the news was broken to him. Several eyebrows shot off the heads of incredulous MPs at this point.
The overall impression was of a man who believed he was being harshly treated by a group of people who didn't really understand his business. After three hours, no-one is much wiser than they were before the session started.
2 comments:
Nice post Alan, which although I only watched the first 10mins in the IoD, he was already digging holes for himself. All the commentators reflect the same lack of detail approach. When he was in charge of the afflicted trading division as an operational director before he became CEO, his defence was beyond laughable. To me, seems like a good decision by the major share holders that he's gone - he didn't have a handle on his own team, let alone the company
great post - look forward to reading more about it. Not a great way to end a career and its what he will be remembered for,,,, ouch...
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