Was the replacement of Jenkins at Barclays just window-dressing?

The board ousted Antony Jenkins despite one of the best half-year results in a while. And it's not clear what will change. So why did the share price leap?

It remains a mystery why Antony Jenkins received a "unanimous" vote of no confidence from Barclays' non-executive directors. There were no nasties lurking in Wednesday's interim figures beyond the usual parade of provisions, including another 600m for mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI). This was Barclays' best half-year for a while. Targets for capital and leverage ratios in 2016 have been reached already. The former chief executive will collect a payoff of at least 2.5m to ease the bruising to his ego but, by the standard of these things, he's entitled to feel miffed.

A need for greater dynamism was the semi-official explanation for his exit. But, if that's the path Barclays wants to tread, John McFarlane, newly installed as executive chairman, needs to improve his own game.