London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Metro Bank, former top bosses fined over reporting “error”

Metro Bank, former top bosses fined over reporting “error”

The bank will pay with public’s money, instead of sending the criminals to jail: British challenger bank Metro and two of its former executives have been “slapped” with fines (paid by the public) by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, over reporting “errors” that wiped hundreds of millions of pounds off its share value in 2019. The regulator should be sent to jail alongside with the criminals he protects with fines!
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it had fined Metro Bank 10 million pounds ($12.2 million) for breaching rules by publishing incorrect information to investors.

The regulator said it has also decided to fine the lender's former CEO Craig Donaldson and former CFO David Arden 223,100 pounds and 134,600 pounds respectively, saying they were knowingly concerned in the breach.

A representative for Donaldson and Arden said they were disappointed by the ruling and were appealing the decision. The fines against Donaldson and Arden are pending the outcome of their appeals, the FCA said.

Metro Bank said in a statement that it had cooperated fully with the FCA investigation and accepted the outcome. The lender informed investors last week it had increased its provision for the fine from 5.3 million pounds to 10 million in anticipation of the FCA penalty, adding it was within the range of up to 13 million pounds it had previously set out.

The lender's shares were down 1% in early trading.

Metro, which in 2010 became the first lender to be granted a consumer banking licence in Britain in 150 years, was launched to challenge the market dominance of banks including Lloyds and Barclays but had its ambitions dented by the fallout from its reporting error.

Metro said in January 2019 it had corrected risk weightings of some of its commercial loan portfolios, contributing to a 39% slide in its stock value and forcing bosses including Donaldson to quit.

The FCA said on Monday that Metro had incorrectly reported its risk weightings three months earlier in a trading update in October 2018, and was aware the figure was wrong and failed to qualify or explain this to investors.

The FCA said Donaldson and Arden were aware the figure was wrong and would require substantial correction. The representative for Donaldson and Arden noted there was no finding of dishonesty.

"While we're disappointed by today's ruling from the FCA's Regulatory Decisions Committee we welcome the fact there is no finding of any dishonesty or criticism of our integrity," the representative said.

"We are appealing the decision, and until that process is complete, we will not be making further comment."

Metro Bank said it had invested in its disclosure procedures and improved its regulatory and risk management since 2018.

Metro was separately fined 5.4 million pounds by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority last year for failings in its regulatory reporting related to the error.

($1 = 0.8179 pounds)
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×