UK regulator FCA has fined Barclays Bank Plc £783,800 for oversight failings its relationship with Premier FX, a collapsed payment firm.
The FCA noted that Barclays has agreed to cover the losses of Premier FX customers. The authority said that it has taken that into account.
The bank’s voluntary payment of £10,076,943.75 will ensure that 167 customers of Premier FX with accepted claims will have all of their money returned.
Barclays served as Premier FX’s sole banker in the UK. The bank failed to identify that Premier FX’s internal controls were deficient and because of that, failed its due diligence conduct.
Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, said:
Premier FX, which handled money on behalf of other people, presented particularly high risks of financial crime and fraud. Barclays was aware of these high risks in providing banking services to Premier FX but failed to take reasonably appropriate steps to mitigate those risks. Barclays’ agreement to meet the deficiency in Premier FX’s funds mitigates the actual losses to Premier FX’s customers. This is a significant step to the credit of the bank and has reduced substantially the sanction that otherwise would have been imposed.
Last week, FINRA fined Barclays $350,000 for market access controls failures.
