Five of Barclays' most senior bankers are being interviewed by the board for the post of chief executive to succeed Matt Barrett.

As part of the bank's succession planning, the directors have selected five internal candidates from which they hope to choose Barrett's successor. They are John Varley, 47, finance director; Bob Diamond, 51, head of Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors; David Roberts, 41, head of personal financial services; Roger Davis, 46, head of business banking; and Gary Hoffman, 42, head of Barclaycard. All five are considered excellent contenders.