The U.S. is setting an example for the world in terms of tax friendliness, Barclays CEO Jes Staley told CNBC while at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“The USA has clearly embarked on a strategy to be very business friendly as a regulatory matter and now as a tax matter,” Staley said Thursday.

“40 percent of our business is in the US, now 40 percent of our business is in the lowest tax jurisdiction in the world. And the question is, how is continental Europe going to respond?”

“I think the U.K. should negotiate a regulatory regime which is roughly equivalent to Europe to keep us having access to that single market,” Staley said. “Now that the United States has basically said we’re going to take a different regulatory tact, maintaining the regulatory flexibility in the U.K. to keep London competitive with New York is another dimension to this debate.”

The CEO has spoken in depth about market risks — a combination of high valuations and low volatility, in particular — frequently this week while attending the yearly gathering of global political and business leaders in Switzerland.

There are many reasons to be optimistic, Staley said, pointing to improving global growth and low unemployment across developed economies. But “balance it with a monetary policy that’s been incredibly accommodating,” he cautioned, saying, “The balance between where economic growth is right now, where economic policy is, that has to be re-balanced.”

The American banker took over as Barclays chief executive in 2015 on a pledge to rebuild the bank’s scandal-ridden reputation, becoming its fifth CEO in seven years. Prior to that he spent 34 years at J.P. Morgan, eventually becoming CEO.

Source: cnbc
Barclays CEO says new US tax policy is a 'very big deal' for his company