PRA hits The Bank of London with £2 million penalty for "failing to act with integrity"

In levying the fine, the PRA says the clearing bank and its parent company Oplyse Holdings failed to act with integrity and to be open and cooperative with the regulator and for failing to maintain adequate financial resources.

This is the first time the PRA has fined a firm for failing to conduct its business with integrity, and the first time the PRA has taken enforcement action against a parent financial holding company of a firm.

The failings occurred during a turbulent period for the bank between October 2021 and May 2024, following the removal of the bank’s founder Anthony Watson and a scamble for fresh funding to pay its tax bills and escape a winding-up order…

The bank subsequently underwent a change in ownership and control in late 2024, with a new investor group led by Mangrove Capital Partners taking the helm.

The firm remains in dire straits financially. The PRA says the breaches in this case warranted a financial penalty of £12 million. However, it says the bank and its parent company demonstrated that payment of such a penalty “would cause serious financial hardship”.

Sam Woods, deputy governor for prudential regulation and CEO of the PRA, says: “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.”