Barclays shares fall as watchdog fines former boss Jes Staley £1.8m over Epstein claims

  • Barclays shares down following FCA statement on fining Jes Staley 
  • Analyst tells This is Money share drop reflects Barclays' regulatory woes 

By JANE DENTON

Updated:

Barclays shares fell today as the Financial Conduct Authority announced it had fined the bank's former boss, Jes Staley, £1.8million.

The UK's financial regulator said Staley had been 'misleading' it over his relationship with Jeffery Epstein.

It said: 'The FCA has found that Mr Staley recklessly approved a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA, which contained two misleading statements, about the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the point of their last contact.'

The FCA also banned Staley from holding senior positions in the UK. Barclays shares fell nearly 4 per cent following the publication of the FCA statement on Thursday. 

Fine: The UK's financial regulator has decided to fine former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley £1.8m

Fine: The UK's financial regulator has decided to fine former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley £1.8m

However, one analyst told This is Money that the share price slide reflected Barclays' chequered regulatory history, rather than the revelation of the fine.

Staley has referred the FCA's Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal for reconsideration.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA said: 'A chief executive needs to exercise sound judgement and set an example to staff at their firm. Mr Staley failed to do this.

'We consider that he misled both the FCA and the Barclays board about the nature of his relationship with Epstein.'

In response, Barclays published a statement confirming that Staley should forego bonuses and long-term incentives totalling £17.8million following the watchdog's findings. 

Shares shifts: A chart showing Barclays' share price movements over the last year

Shares shifts: A chart showing Barclays' share price movements over the last year

Barclays' share price stood at around 189.72p back in February, before tumbling to around 133.9p in March.

Underperforming the wider market, today the bank's shares fell nearly 4 per cent earlier and were down 2.75 per cent or 4.30p to 152.88p this afternoon.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, told This is Money: 'The share price dip is rather less about the individual fine, rather it reminds investors of Barclays' chequered history in the regulatory sense.'

He added: 'Over the years the bank has been embroiled in a number of brushes with the regulators, most recently as announced at its full-year results in February that profits had been hit by a near £2billion swing in fortunes, with a litigation and conduct charge of £1.6billion, of which the over-issuance of securities in the US accounted for almost £1billion.

'There is therefore some disappointment that such troubles seemingly continue to track Barclays, with investors hoping for a clean sheet which can be demonstrated over a period of time.'

Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC shares are down 0.24 per cent and 0.55 per cent respectively today. 

In July, Barclays warned of growing pressure on its UK business as stubborn inflation and high interest rates pushed customers to repay debt and switch into savings, squeezing the bank's margins and hurting its shares despite a fresh share buyback. 

The bank reported a first-half pre-tax profit of £4.6billion, in line with forecasts, but signalled profit margins were shrinking. 

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