Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has resigned with immediate effect, the bank said today.
The move comes after Barclays was fined �290 million by UK and US regulators for manipulating the Libor, the rate at which banks lend to each other.
Mr Diamond said: “The external pressure placed on Barclays has reached a level that risks damaging the franchise.”
The bank’s chairman Marcus Agius, who announced his intention to resign over the affair yesterday, will lead the search for a new chief executive immediately, Barclays said.
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