BARCLAYS HAS appointed Antony Jenkins as chief executive with immediate effect, as the crisis-hit bank seeks to regain its footing in the wake of a new investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

Mr Jenkins, a member of the bank’s executive committee since 2009, steps up to the role from his position as head of Barclays’ retail and business banking division.

His appointment fills the gap left by Bob Diamond, who stepped down in July following a transatlantic regulatory probe into the bank’s attempted manipulation of Libor interbank borrowing rates, which resulted in a £290 million fine.

Mr Jenkins said: “Barclays is a strong universal bank with many assets . . . but we have made serious mistakes in recent years and clearly failed to keep pace with our stakeholders’ expectations.

“We have an obligation to all of those stakeholders – customers, clients, shareholders, colleagues and broader society – and a unique opportunity to restore Barclays’ reputation. That journey will take time, we have much to do and I look forward to getting started immediately.”

Barclays had previously identified Sir David Walker as the replacement for Marcus Agius, who will vacate the chairman’s role later this year.

Sir David said: “The field of shortlisted candidates that I met was very strong, and it was clear that Antony was the outstanding choice. His track record, familiarity with the group and vision for the future are all highly compelling.”

The appointment follows Wednesday’s decision by the Serious Fraud Office to examine payments the bank made as part of its 2008 capital raising from Middle East investors. Barclays confirmed that the SFO had opened a formal criminal investigation into the issue.

Mr Jenkins will be paid a base salary of £1.1 million, which Barclays said reflected his new responsibilities and had been “benchmarked against a peer group of global universal banks, industrial companies and financial services institutions”.

He will be eligible for an annual bonus of up to £2.75 million, as well as shares in Barclays’ long-term incentive plan worth up to £4.4 million and a cash allowance of £363,000 in lieu of pension.

Barclays shares fell 2 per cent in afternoon trading. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012