Barclays Could Take Ten Years To Rebuild Trust, Warns CEO Antony Jenkins

Could It Take A Decade For You To Trust Barclays Again?
Antony Jenkins, chief executive officer of Barclays Plc, poses for a photograph following the company's Strategic Review at a news conference in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Barclays Plc will cut 3,700 jobs to reduce annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) as Jenkins revamps the lender following its fine for interest-rate manipulation. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Antony Jenkins, chief executive officer of Barclays Plc, poses for a photograph following the company's Strategic Review at a news conference in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Barclays Plc will cut 3,700 jobs to reduce annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) as Jenkins revamps the lender following its fine for interest-rate manipulation. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images

Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins has admitted it could take as long as a decade for the bank to win back public trust after a string of scandals.

Speaking on the Today programme on Radio 4, Jenkins said: "Trust is a very easy thing to lose, and a very hard thing to win back.

"In my view it will takes several years - probably five to ten - to rebuild trust in Barclays."

The Barclays boss used his opportunity as guest editor of the Today programme to discuss “the importance of long-term thinking and planning, and proper leadership”.

“Trust is lost in weeks and months, and regained in years and decades,” he said.

"My point is not that short term markets are bad or inaccurate. They serve a very useful purpose. It is susceptible to elevator analysis – this is up this is down. In addition to looking at the short term and what that tells us how do we focus on longer term drivers of the economy."

Barclays was the first bank to be drawn into the Libor scandal, as traders were found to have rigged the London inter-bank lending rate, which landed the bank with a £290 million fine last June. Barclays was also drawn into the PPI mis-selling scandal.

Jenkins took over as Barclays CEO last August with the promise to restore the bank's reputation after Bob DIamond was forced to resign down amid headlines about the Libor scandal.

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