CEO of UK Finance steps down

Stephen Jones has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UK Finance following alleged sexist, derogatory comments he made about financier Amanda Staveley during the last recession.

Jones resigned after a court heard he made “deeply unpleasant personal comments” about Staveley in October 2008 when he was Managing Director of Barclays Bank, which was battling to survive the financial crisis.

The court case centres around Staveley suing Barclays for £1.6 billion.

Commenting on the resignation Bob Wigley, Chairman of UK Finance said “Stephen has rightly acknowledged that the comments he made in 2008 were inappropriate and do not meet the standards expected of leaders in our industry. He has characteristically taken a difficult personal decision in the interest of UK Finance and the industry and we accept his decision.”

“I and the Board of UK Finance want to thank Stephen for all of his vision and hard work in building UK Finance over the last three years. His commitment and passion to raise standards across the industry and ensure our work was always focussed on meeting the needs of consumers and businesses has never been more apparent than in the way UK Finance and our members have responded to the challenges of recent months.”