FCA Slams Barclays with Fresh $108-Million Fine

The Financial Conduct Authority announced that it has imposed a fine of £72.07 million ($108.56 mln) on Barclays (LON:BARC) related to a £1.88 ($2.83 bln) billion transaction involving ultra-high net worth clients with high risk profiles.

Low-risk due diligence on high-risk deal

The bank failed to conduct appropriate due diligence on this transaction, the FCA said, which involved investing in warrant-backed notes and notes backed by third-party bonds. In fact, it added, Barclays applied a lower level of due diligence than it did on other transactions that involved clients with a lower risk profile. Still, the watchdog noted that the bank had not actually committed a crime. Barclays earned £52.3 million ($78.86 mln) in revenues from the deal – the largest of its kind it had conducted, the FCA also said.

A string of fines

Barclays has been the focus of a number of investigations leading to fines of various sizes. Last week Finance Magnates reported that the New York Department of Financial Services found the UK lender guilty of manipulating FX markets via its electronic Trading Platform Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real Read this Term, hitting it with a fine of $150 million.

A few days before that, Barclays settled a case brought against it by a group of financial institutions claiming to have suffered from its Libor Libor Libor stands for London Inter-bank offered rate. It is an industry-specific term which most of us would never have heard of until the "Libor scandal" became popularized in 2012. Libor is considered to be one of the most important interest rates in finance, upon which trillions of financial contracts rest. The Libor rate effects over $800,000,000,000,000 in financial deals. Banks simply cannot lend money to one another whenever they like as there is a system in place. Every day a group of leading Libor stands for London Inter-bank offered rate. It is an industry-specific term which most of us would never have heard of until the "Libor scandal" became popularized in 2012. Libor is considered to be one of the most important interest rates in finance, upon which trillions of financial contracts rest. The Libor rate effects over $800,000,000,000,000 in financial deals. Banks simply cannot lend money to one another whenever they like as there is a system in place. Every day a group of leading Read this Term-manipulating practices, that cost it $120 million.

In October, the bank, along with the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, agreed to settle with another group of claimants in the Libor scandal for a total of $900 million. Barclays’ share of this fine was the largest, at $384 million.