Mr Mottek joins Barclays from First Southern Bank in the US, where he was president and CEO. Prior to this, Mr Mottek was with Citibank, where he held senior positions in the US and Latin America. He is currently based in Florida but will be relocating to Lisbon to take up his new role.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Salom said: I am delighted that Peter is joining us and I look forward to his contribution and leadership in Portugal, where so far we have been very successful in our retail and commercial banking efforts. Barclays is looking to grow further in this key market, and we will to continue to work closely with our colleagues in investment banking and investment management to achieve just that.