A U.K. appeal court has found that the former COO of Barclays PLC's wealth and investment management unit, Andrew Tinney, failed to meet the required standard of integrity, but overturned a lifetime ban on him from working in financial services.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority wanted to publicly censure Tinney and ban him from carrying out any senior management or significant-influence functions at any financial service provider. The FCA's decision was linked to allegations that Tinney suppressed a critical report from external consultants regarding the bullying culture at the bank's U.S. wealth management division.
Tinney appealed to the Upper Tribunal, which upheld the finding that Tinney was reckless in giving the impression about the document not existing, and that he made a misleading statement to his professional regulator, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, concerning the nature of his conduct.
However, it did not uphold the allegation that he made false or misleading statements to his colleagues in a response to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York about the document, or that he had misled the FCA.
The tribunal ruled that the appropriate sanction is for the FCA to publish a statement on Tinney's misconduct.
