Jim Armitage: Will Jes Staley and John McFarlane clash at Barclays?

It’s curious Barclays’ shares have still not had a Staley bounce.

Perhaps one reason is that the John and Jezzer double act might not be as smooth as they hope.

Typically, chairman John McFarlane has a clear and unshakeable view on where Barclays needs to go. He is a career banker, so knows and understands the intricacies of the industry.

But so does his proposed CEO and fellow banking veteran Jes Staley.

That risks a clash of opinions as the two grapple with turning Barclays around when, as JPMorgan showed today, making money in investment banking isn’t easy.

It was different when McFarlane took the chair at Aviva.

Not being an insurance man himself, there was little potential for unhealthy bickering over strategy when he hired the industry specialist Mark Wilson as his chief exec.

Having two equally-qualified finance greybeards at the top of Barclays looks a bit like having co-CEOs — a route that has failed many a company.