Lost amidst the drama around Jes Staley‘s ties to convicted (deceased) sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is Staley’s poor performance as Barclays CEO. This speaks to Barclays’ weak Board of Directors and lack of corporate governance.

One need look no further than the numbers. Barclays has under-performed during Staley’s tenure. Staley was groomed by JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon – the best Financial Services CEO – yet apparently squandered the experience. It’s fun to compare JPM share performance to BCS shares over the past five years – which is representative of Staley’s tenure. BCS shares are off (29%) during the period while JPM shares are up 115%. The S&P 500 is up 68% over the same period. (click the chart below to expand).

Further, Barclays operating performance is nothing to write home about. Staley’s poor operating results provide sufficient reason to remove him as CEO. The fact that Staley tried to unmask an internal whistle-blower and the fact that he maintained a relationship with Epstein after Epstein’s first conviction demonstrates Staley’s poor judgement.

Now would be the time for Barclays’ Board of Directors to step-up and make a CEO change.

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