UK-based lender Metro Bank is facing a £10m fine from the financial regulator for breaching listing norms.
The Financial Conduct Authority said the bank provided incorrect information to investors.
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Metro Bank’s former chief executive Craig Donaldson and former chief financial officer David Arden are also facing a fine of £223,100 and £134,600, respectively.
As part of its quarterly financial results, Metro Bank published incorrect information about its Risk Weighted Assets (RWA) on 24 October 2018, the regulator said.
RWA is used to determine the capital requirements for a bank.
The FCA stated that Metro Bank was aware that the figure was wrong, but it failed to explain or qualify this to investors.
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By GlobalDataDonaldson and Arden were also aware that Metro Bank had violated the listing rules, the FCA said, adding that the regulator said that they were aware that the RWA figure in the October announcement was incorrect and would need to be significantly corrected.
The fines against the former bank executive are subject to the decision of the Upper Tribunal, the regulator noted.
Established in 2010, the mid-sized bank sought to challenge the UK’s high-street banks. When the correct RWA figure was announced in January 2019, Metro Bank’s share price fell by 39%.
FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward said: “Listed firms must ensure that the information they are disclosing to the market is right. This is what investors are entitled to receive.
“The UK’s Listing Rules impose high standards on issuers and their officers which Metro Bank, Mr Donaldson and Mr Arden failed to meet in this case.”
Last week, the FCA imposed a fine of £107.79m on Santander UK for repeated failure in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls.
