Diamond forgoes $31M in Barclays bonuses

LONDON, July 10 (UPI) -- Robert E. Diamond Jr., the former chief executive of Britain's Barclays Bank, has agreed to waive bonuses worth as much as $31 million, the bank said.

Barclays announced the details of Diamond's resignation package Tuesday as British politicians investigating the Libor scandal that cost him his job accused him of misleading Parliament, The Financial Times reported.

Marcus Agius, Barclays' outgoing chairman, appeared to contradict statements by his former chief executive, the newspaper said.

Both men resigned after Britain's Financial Services Authority fined the bank $450 million for trying to manipulate the London Interbank Lending Rate -- the Libor -- a key measure of banks' strength.

Libor measures the average rate banks pay to borrow from rival banks for a specific period of time -- from a few weeks to a year.

Libor is calculated on a daily basis by the British Bankers' Association from estimates submitted by the major international banks based in London of the interest rate they must pay to borrow cash from other banks.

"Mr. Diamond has voluntarily offered to waive all of his unvested deferred bonus awards and long term incentive share awards," the bank said Tuesday in a statement. "This is in addition to his previous decision to forgo any consideration for an annual bonus this year."

Diamond, however, will receive up to 12 months' salary, pension allowance and other benefits.

"The board deeply regrets the circumstances that led to Bob resigning his positions at Barclays. Despite having no personal culpability, he recognizes more than anyone the negative attention that they have generated and has taken characteristically strong action to address that," Agius said in a statement. "These circumstances do not detract in any way from the tremendous legacy that Bob has left at Barclays, and his actions are clear indications of his commitment to the institution to which he has contributed so much."

Diamond said he hopes his decision to step down and the details of his remuneration agreement "will help close this chapter and allow Barclays to move forward and prosper."