Alison Carnwath quits Barclays: wrong time, wrong job

We can understand why Carnwath might feel overloaded at Barclays - she's got seven other jobs or advisory positions. But why did she select the Barclays role for the chop?
Alison Carnwath
Alison Carnwath. Photograph: Tom Stockill/Camera Press

If you're going to quit Barclays' board at least do so for a principled reason. Here is Alison Carnwath's explanation of why she decided to resign after less than two years as a non-executive: "With regret I have concluded that I am no longer able to devote sufficient time to my role as a director of Barclays, given my other commitments."

We can understand why Carnwath might feel overloaded; she's got eight other jobs or advisory posts. But why did she choose Barclays for the chop?

It's understandable she would want to retain the chairmanship of Land Securities, a FTSE 100 company. But why not cut her non-executive posting at Man Group? Or why not shed the role at the private equity firm Isis, where she chairs the management committee? Or even her boardroom position at Paccar, the US-based maker of heavy-duty trucks, or Zurich Insurance?

It's not as if a Barclays' directorship could ever have been considered a breeze. Even in August 2010, when Carnwath joined, the bank was never out of the headlines. She increased her commitment last October, by agreeing to chair the remuneration committee.

Could it be she is a zealous would-be reformer on pay and feels her best efforts are being thwarted? It is known that she wanted Bob ­Diamond to be denied a bonus last year. She might also find Jerry del Missier's potential £8.75m pay-off objectionable.

But if that's the tale, then the time to resign was February, when bonus matters were being settled by the board. At the annual meeting in April she gave a robust defence of Barclays' pay ­policies, including Diamond's £2.7m bonus. For her troubles, she got a 21% vote against her re-election.

That might have been enough to trigger departure. But Carnwath didn't refer to it in her statement.

The survivors among Barclays' non-executive directors are entitled to feel miffed. But most may also feel that jumping ship in the midst of a crisis is not the done thing unless you've got solid reasons you can share. If she is trying to make a point, she should tell the poor shareholders what it is.

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