UK Regulator Fines Bank of London £2M for “Failing to Act With Integrity”

_{Photo credit: Sven Hansche / Shutterstock.com}

A UK banking watchdog has fined the Bank of London £2 million (approx. $2.6 million) after finding the bank had misled regulators about its financial health, submitted fabricated financial information, and “failed to act with integrity.”

The penalty was issued by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), part of the Bank of England, following an investigation into the bank and its parent company, Oplyse Holdings Limited. The regulator said the companies had failed to be open and cooperative and had not maintained adequate financial resources.

According to the PRA, the misconduct took place between October 2021 and May 2024 and included providing fabricated documents designed to give a false impression of the bank’s capital position. The regulator also found that the firms had failed to act in a prudent manner, including failing to manage or report significant exposure from an internal loan from the Bank of London Group Limited to Oplyse Holdings Limited. 

The breaches were deemed serious enough to warrant a £12 million (approx. $16 million) fine. However, the penalty was reduced to £2 million (approx. $2.6 million) after the firms argued that a higher amount would cause significant financial hardship. The PRA, the Bank of London Group Limited, and Oplyse Holdings Limited have now agreed on a settlement. 

The case marks the first time the PRA has fined a firm specifically for failing to conduct its business with integrity, as well as its first enforcement action against a parent financial holding company.

Sam Woods, Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation and Chief Executive Officer of the PRA, said:

Trust in banking in the UK requires integrity and open communication with the PRA from all banks, regardless of their size. The Bank of London Group Limited and Oplyse Holdings Limited fell well below our standards, resulting in today’s penalty which marks the PRA’s first finding against a firm for acting without integrity.

The Bank of London said it accepts the PRA’s findings and regrets the failings identified. It attributed the failings to previous leadership and noted that it has since changed its management team, adding:

The Bank has been implementing a comprehensive remediation programme, and is continuing work to strengthen further its governance and risk management arrangements, and its financial and regulatory reporting controls.