Barclays replaces co-heads of equities as reshuffle continues

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Barclays' (BARC.L) co-heads of equities, Todd Sandoz and Paul Leech, have left the bank, a company spokesperson said on Monday, as the British firm continues a reshuffle of its investment bank's management.

Stephen Dainton, who has run the business in the past, has taken over as interim global head of equities, the spokesperson said, in addition to keeping his current role as co-head of global markets.

"The current strategy and client proposition for equities were set by Stephen when he previously ran the business and will not change," the bank said in an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by the spokesperson.

The bank now needs a single leader for the business to keep growing market share and returns, the memo said. Barclays is conducting a search for a permanent leader for the equities business, it added.

Barclays' investment bank has performed strongly in recent quarters, helping the overall group to beat market expectations for profit thanks in particular to a boom in fixed-income trading, where Barclays has traditionally been strong.

The bank's reputation among investors as well as its results have, however, been blighted by a trading blunder last year that saw it agree a penalty of $361 million with U.S. regulators.

Those authorities described oversights that led the bank to sell nearly $18 billion worth of investment products, more than was permitted by the rules, as "staggering." The bank admitted its failing and bought many of the securities back.

The reshuffle announced on Monday is the latest in a series of changes at the top of Barclays' investment bank, after it last month appointed former Credit Suisse dealmaker Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright as co-heads of investment banking.

The changes come while Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan is being treated for cancer, for which he has said doctors have made an optimistic prognosis, and during which he has said he will keep working.

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