Mike Rake exits board of Financial Reporting Council The City grandee, who is chairman of BT Group and easyJet and serves on the boards of Barclays, McGraw Hill, the American publishing giant, and a raft of smaller companies and institutions, stepped down from the board with effect from January 1. His departure has not been announced, although it is understood Lady Hogg, chairman of the FRC, asked him to remain on the board, a request he turned down due to his other commitments. Pirc has asked the FRC, which is also responsible for enforcing accounting and auditing standards, to investigate. Barclays says it has complied with accounting standards. However, Sir Michael said his departure was planned: "On leaving KPMG, I agreed to join the FRC for a three-year term. When Sarah Hogg took over as chair, I agreed to extend my commitments by a further year, during the transition period, which ended, as planned, in December 2011. The FRC did not return calls and emails for comment.