StanChart Compliance Head Goes After `Inappropriate' Conduct

(Bloomberg) -- Standard Chartered Plc’s compliance chief, Neil Barry, has left the bank after a disciplinary investigation found his behavior to be “inappropriate,” according to an internal memo.

The probe “concluded that Neil’s managerial style, behavior and language toward some of his colleagues was inappropriate and not in line with our valued behaviors,” Tracey McDermott, head of corporate, public and regulatory affairs, and Mark Smith, chief risk officer, said in the email to staff. His conduct fell short of warranting his dismissal, but he agreed to leave because of the expectations of his position, they said.

Barry was placed on leave in March after multiple complaints from co-workers about behavior and comments that were perceived as harassment, Bloomberg News reported in April. He declined to comment in an email.

“Neil has expressed his regret if any of his interactions with his colleagues caused upset or offense –- that was never his intention,” the memo said. “He has also acknowledged that as a senior leader he must role-model the highest standards of behavior,” the memo said, adding that Barry will pursue other opportunities.

Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters has been struggling to resolve past and present misconduct scandals and overhaul Standard Chartered’s culture during his three-years at the bank, from violating U.S. sanctions to allegations of lax oversight over international private client transfers. In 2016, the CEO introduced a tighter code of conduct at the Asia-focused lender, saying senior staff had been flouting ethics rules and saw themselves as “above the law.”

Barry joined Standard Chartered in 2009 from Citigroup Inc., initially as global head of legal and compliance for private banking and wealth management in Singapore, rising to group head of compliance under Winters in 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile. He attended law school at New York University.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Morris in London at smorris39@bloomberg.net;Ambereen Choudhury in London at achoudhury@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon, Paul Armstrong

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