01 · In plain English
What happened.
The FCA fined Barclays Bank £783,800 in February 2022 for weak oversight of its business customer Premier FX, a small payments firm for which Barclays was the sole UK banker. Premier FX collapsed in 2018 after the death of its sole director, when it emerged it had been taking deposits it was not authorised to take and had not kept client money separate, leaving 167 customers — mostly British expats in Spain and Portugal — with losses of just over £10 million. The FCA found Barclays failed to act with due skill, care and diligence: it did not check that Premier FX's real activity matched what it expected, and it missed signs that the firm's internal controls were deficient. Barclays settled early for a 30% discount and voluntarily paid £10,076,943.75 so that every customer with an accepted claim got all their money back.
Written by Firmwatcher from the FCA's notice. The FCA's own text and documents below are the authoritative record.
02 · Enforcement details
What the FCA register says.
On 24 February 2022, the FCA imposed a financial penalty on Barclays Bank Plc. The reason for this action is because the firm failed to conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence and thereby breached Principle 2. As a consequence of this action, the FCA imposed a penalty of £783,800. The FCA’s action took effect on 24 February 2022 and a copy of the Final Notice is displayed on the FCA's web site here:
03 · Press coverage
How it was reported.
- Barclays fined £783,800 and agrees to make a voluntary payment to Premier FX customersFinancial Conduct Authority · 28 Feb 2022
- Barclays Pays Out Millions for Failing to Vet Collapsed FX FirmBloomberg · 28 Feb 2022
- FCA fines Barclays for oversight failings as bank agrees to compensate customers of collapsed Premier FXCity AM · 28 Feb 2022
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04 · Firm details
Firm on the FCA register.
- Firm name
- Barclays Bank Plc
- Firm reference number
- 122702
- Register status
- Authorised for specific activities
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