21 Executives Are Forced to Leave Barings : Securities: The departing officials include three closely associated with former trader Nicholas Leeson.
Internationale Nederlanden Groep closed the book on its takeover of Barings by forcing out 21 executives linked to the February collapse of Britain’s oldest investment bank.
The Dutch bank said it accepted the resignations of 11 Barings executives in London, seven in Tokyo and three in Singapore. It said no other departures are expected at the 233-year-old firm.
The departing executives include three closely associated with former Singapore trader Nicholas Leeson and the collapse of Barings resulting from $1.35 billion in futures and options losses in Asia. They are Peter Norris, former head of investment banking; Ron Baker, former head of financial products, and James Bax, manager of the Singapore office.
Hessel Lindenbergh, the ING executive who became chairman of Barings after the Dutch bank bought it March 6, said ING decided to clean the slate now to improve clients’ confidence in the new operation.
“It has become evident that the uncertainties created both internally and externally by continuing to defer management action would be damaging,” Lindenbergh said in a statement. “Our review has confirmed that the problem stemming from Singapore was extraordinary and not endemic. It is a problem we have put behind us.”
Leeson is in jail in Frankfurt since attempting to return to Britain after Barings’ collapse Feb. 26. A German court hearing to discuss a 1,000-page warrant for his extradition to Singapore will be held today. British authorities have decided not to pursue an extradition of their own.
Among the others to be fired are Mary Walz, head of equity derivative products; Anthony Hawes, former group treasurer; Geoffrey Barnett, chief operating officer; George Maclean, head of the bank ing division, and Geoffrey Broadhurst, finance director.
In addition, ING said it appointed Clarke Gray chief operating officer of Barings Securities International Ltd. and Barings Bros. Ltd. Gray was chief operating officer of ING U.S. Capital in New York.
It also named Don MacKenzie chief executive of Barings Securities (Japan) Ltd. and Jeremy Palmer regional manager in Asia of Barings Securities International Ltd. MacKenzie was head of ING Japan, and Palmer was a co-chief of capital markets at Barings.
The departures are the first since the April 3 resignations of former Barings Chairman Peter Baring and Deputy Chairman Andrew Tuckey. They resigned as a matter of principle after the company’s collapse.
ING had originally said it would wait until a Bank of England investigation into the matter was complete before asking for the resignations of top executives. But Bank of England Gov. Eddie George said the first part of the investigation will not be completed until at least the beginning of June.
ING had criticized the Bank of England for taking too long in its investigation of the Barings affair and warned last month that it would fire the executives at the end of April.
