Barclays chief reportedly quizzed for second time in whistleblowing probe

City regulators have called in the chief executive of Barclays for a second interview over his attempts to root out a whistleblower, according to reports.

Jes Staley was quizzed by both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) last week after an initial interview in July, Sky News has reported.

The two organisations has opened a probe into Mr Staley's conduct and senior manager responsibilities relating to the lender's whistleblowing programme.

The incident refers to anonymous letters sent in 2016 to the board and an executive, which raised concerns about a newly-recruited senior employee and Mr Staley's role in the recruitment.

Having been given a copy of the first letter and made aware of the second, Mr Staley initially requested that Barclays Group Information Security team attempt to identify the authors of the letters as he considered they were an "unfair personal attack" on the employee.

Barclays has already issued the CEO with a formal written reprimand, and may make a "very significant compensation adjustment" to his bonus.

The precise amount of the compensation adjustment will be determined once the FCA and PRA investigations have concluded.

Barclays previously said that Mr Staley "honestly, but mistakenly, believed that it was permissible to identify the author" of a letter written by the whistleblower.

The board concluded that Mr Staley "made an error" in becoming involved with and not applying appropriate governance around the matter.

The attempt to uncover the whistleblower's identity was ultimately unsuccessful.

Barclays, the FCA and the PRA declined to comment.