A view of the Barclays headquarters at London's Canary Wharf financial district.Lefteris Pitarakis/The Associated Press
Rich Ricci, the head of Barclays PLC's investment bank, has sold shares worth more than £17 million ($26-million) straight after receiving them as part of previous deferred bonuses or long-term awards.
Barclays said on Wednesday Mr. Ricci was awarded 5.7 million shares on Monday and had sold them all when the shares were priced at 308.1 pence, valuing the stake at £17.6-million. Barclays shares have fallen through this week and closed on Wednesday at 295.2 pence.
Mr. Ricci's pay does not have to be disclosed as he is not on the board, but he has long been one of the highest paid people at Barclays. He was paid £10.6 million and awarded shares worth another £17.3-million for 2010 alone.
Mr. Ricci did not get a bonus for last year after Barclays was fined $450-million (U.S.) for rigging Libor interest rates, but is expected to have received £1.5-million for last year, including £700,000 in salary and £800,000 in long-term share awards.
There has been speculation he will not stay at Barclays as new chief executive Antony Jenkins overhauls the bank.
Mr. Ricci joined Barclays in 1994 and led its acquisition of Lehman Brothers in 2008, becoming co-head of investment banking in 2009 and sole head of corporate and investment banking last June.
He owns a number of top racehorses based in Ireland, including many that ran at last week's prestigious Cheltenham festival in England. One horse is named Fatcatinthehat.
Mr. Ricci was one of nine directors to receive shares, and often about half of them are sold to cover taxes. Mr. Jenkins, who took over as chief executive officer at the end of August, received shares worth about £5.6-million, and sold just more than half.
Tom Kalaris, head of wealth and investment management, cashed in all the shares he was awarded, worth £5.5 million.
Barclays said the share awards included deferred shares awarded from previous years' annual bonuses and the vesting of long-term incentive plans. Under its deferred plan, a third of shares are paid each year over three years – so Mr. Ricci's bonuses date back to 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Barclays said all its future short- and long-term share awards would be based on new principles it set out in its annual report, released on March 8.
It said then that a new performance assessment would be based on delivering performance consistent with values Mr. Jenkins has set out to rebuild Barclays' reputation.