One Churchill Place skyscraper, the Barclays Plc headquarters, at Canary Wharf in London, U.K., on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021.
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Britain’s financial regulator has fined Barclays 40 million pounds ($50.9 million) for its failure to disclose payments made to Qatari entities in 2008, after the bank on Monday said it had dropped its appeal over the case.
In doing so, Barclays said it was not acknowledging wrongdoing, but drawing a line under a case which has hung over it for 16 years as regulators scrutinized how it secured a lifeline from the Middle East at the height of the global financial crisis.
The fine by the Financial Conduct Authority dates back to the 2008 crisis, when Barclays scrambled to raise funds from overseas investors, including Qatar, in order to avoid a state bailout.
The British bank paid undisclosed fees to Qatari funds involved in its rescue, the FCA said in 2022, finding that Barclays’ conduct in the capital raising was reckless and that it lacked integrity.
The FCA at the time fined Barclays 50 million pounds, which the bank appealed.
In a statement on Monday, Barclays said it did not accept the FCA’s findings but had withdrawn its appeal given “the time elapsed since the events.”
The interests of the bank, its shareholders and other stakeholders were best served by the withdrawal, Barclays said, adding that there was no material financial impact from the fine.
The British bank had been due to appeal against the FCA’s fine at a court case on Monday, with its former Chief Executive John Varley among witnesses set to appear.
“Barclays’ misconduct was serious and meant investors did not have all the information they should have had,” said Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA.
“However, the events took place over 16 years ago and we recognise that Barclays is a very different organisation today, having implemented change across the business,” he said.