Barclays said today its investment bank boss Bob Diamond will take over as chief executive of the British bank in two weeks' time, some three months earlier than planned.

Mr Diamond is taking over from John Varley, who is stepping down after six years as CEO. The bank announced the change in September, when it said the handover would occur at the end of March.

"Over the last three months, John and Bob have made good progress in completing the transition. John's view, with which I and the board agree, is that we are now ready to effect the handover," Barclays chairman Marcus Agius said in a statement.

Mr Diamond (59) has been deputy CEO since October. The American, born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts, has been credited with rebuilding Barclays' investment bank Barclays Capital (BarCap) since joining 14 years ago, earning headline-making bonuses in the process.

He missed out on the top job when Varley was named CEO in 2004 and his promotion was no surprise. It is not expected to herald a change in strategy at the bank, although it was slammed by some politicians for putting one of Europe's best-paid investment bankers in charge.

Barclays avoided taking taxpayer bailout cash during the financial crisis and has emerged as one of the relative winners.

Mr Varley (54) will become senior advisor on regulatory matters at the bank from the start of next year, a role in which he is likely to be busy. There remains intense scrutiny on pay for bankers, capital levels and a raft of other regulatory issues, all of which are expected to remain hot topics next year.

Mr Diamond's long-time lieutenants Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci have already taken over as co-chief executives of BarCap, which is one of the leading banks in debt markets and is building up aggressively in equities and advisory.

Reuters