The man with the biggest job in UK banking, at least for the time being, is steeped in the industry.

He rose to prominence as head of UK operations for Citigroup in the UK, moved to Standard Chartered, then lasted a decade as chief executive of ANZ . He was on the RBS board from 2008 to 2012. At Aviva he oversaw a radical turnround which included a cut in the dividend and the disposal of overseas operations, which has driven a 50 per cent rise in the insurer's shares over two years.

A loss to both Aviva and FirstGroup, Mr McFarlane has made his mark already, acting even faster than anticipated to give Anthony Jenkins the tap on the shoulder and take the reins himself. There is no succession plan in place, though the Scot is said to have a better rapport with finance director Tushar Morzaria than he had with Mr Jenkins.

The outgoing chief is said to have broadly delivered against the cost cutting targets he promised investors, but the bank has suffered from revenue pressures, the bank levy, and the seemingly interminable "conduct" skeletons in the closet.

The executive chairman has signalled no major change in strategy, mainly because a new chief executive will still be constrained by the bank's capital strength, which is well below that at Lloyds and RBS. That means it can't offload unwanted assets at big book losses, though like the state-backed banks Barclays faces a continuing drag from a murky past. But for now, the hands-on Scot has the benefit of investor doubts.