Some things can’t be expected of company boards — that their default position, say, is that the chief executive is an inveterate liar. Even so, people expect a bit of professional scepticism, not least from the directors of Barclays bank. So, how did they fail to apply any over the grotesque Jes Staley affair?
The bank’s former boss, who the board credulously backed to the hilt, has been fined £1.8 million by the Financial Conduct Authority and banned from financial services for allegedly misleading the watchdog — a decision rubber-stamped by the Bank of England, even if it didn’t seem to know who he was, issuing a statement on “Jes Stanley”.
Still, by now, most people are familiar with the bloke. Staley, who plans an
