The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
FCA fine for Barclays chief
Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has been fined £642,430 by the Financial Conduct Authority for his attempt to unmask a whistleblower.
Mr Staley was fined by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, which concluded he failed to “act with due skill, care and diligence”.
The regulators are also forcing Barclays to report on how it handles future whistleblowing cases.
Senior managers will be required to update the watchdog on their systems and controls every year.
Mr Staley tried to identify the author of a letter sent to Barclays in 2016 which claimed to be from a shareholder.
It contained a number of allegations, some of which related to Mr Staley.
Regulators said the CEO should not have tried to investigate the letter himself because of a risk he would not be impartial when responding to it.
The complaint was being dealt with by Barclays’ group compliance team and the regulators said they should have been left to do their work unimpeded.
Mark Steward of FCA said: “Mr Staley breached the standard of care required and expected of a chief executive in a way that risked undermining confidence in Barclays’ whistleblowing procedures.”
The regulators noted Mr Staley made no personal gain from his actions.
The fine, which was reduced as a result of early settlement of the case, represents 10% of Mr Staley’s annual income.