The surprise departure by one of Barclays' most senior executives stoked speculation today about simmering tension at the top of Britain's third biggest bank.
Paul Idzik, Barclays' chief operating officer since 2004, has quit and will leave later this year, the bank said late last night.
Mr Idzik, a 47-year-old American, was seen as a key intermediary between chief executive John Varley and
head of Barclays Capital Bob Diamond.
Speculation has persisted about tension between the two since Mr Varley became CEO four years ago and Diamond's units have driven the bank's growth.
Reports said Idzik's departure was partly due to the tension. Insiders downplayed the talk, saying Idzik was leaving as he had largely completed his role. He will not be replaced.
The departure also comes at a sensitive time for Barclays, which is facing speculation that it could launch a rights issue to rebuild its capital and also scrutiny from investors over its exposure to losses from the credit crunch.
By 12.05pm Barclays shares were up 1.2 per cent at 470.5 pence, in line with gains among UK banks.
Analysts said shares had held steady as Idzik's role was not linked to potential writedowns or other sensitive trading issues.
One described him as "the enforcer" within the group, and another said he probably would have stayed if Barclays had won last year's fight for ABN AMRO but now there were no big integration or operational tasks.
Barclays is due to release a trading update on May 15th, when analysts are keen to hear how the bank has limited its losses from risky assets - as signalled in guidance it gave last week - at a time when losses have soared at other banks.