BCS Barclays PLC

By Max Colchester 

A U.K. regulator on Wednesday proposed banning Andrew Tinney--a former top executive at Barclays PLC's wealth division--from holding senior financial posts for allegedly hiding an internal report that detailed severe cultural failings at the unit.

The Financial Conduct Authority said Mr. Tinney, who was chief operating officer of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, should be prevented from holding any senior positions at a financial company. Mr. Tinney, who had the Barclays job between 2010 and 2012, is disputing the FCA's finding, the regulator said.

"I do not accept that any of my actions can be construed as misconduct," said a statement issued on behalf of Mr. Tinney.

Back in 2012 the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Barclays to fix regulatory failings at its U.S. wealth unit. The FCA said Mr. Tinney hired a consultancy to look at how "tone at the top" influenced Barclays Wealth America. Upon receiving the highly critical report Mr. Tinney ensured that no-one else could read it, didn't put it on a computer and told the consultancy that it didn't need to circulate a copy. Instead he discussed the report's findings with his boss and made plans to address some of the failings outlined in a workshop, the FCA said.

However a whistleblower contacted Barclays's chairman saying the report had been suppressed. In December Barclays got a report from the consultant and Mr. Tinney was suspended. He then resigned.

A tribunal will now rule on whether the FCA's plan to ban Mr. Tinney should be upheld. Until then no action has been taken. The FCA said that given the timing of the report, which coincided with a major review of the bank after it admitted to having tried to rig interbank lending rates in 2012, made Mr. Tinney's actions particularly inappropriate. The regulator said Mr. Tinney did try to address some of the shortcomings highlighted in the report by organizing briefings and a workshop with staffers.

Barclays and Mr. Tinney didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Past practices at Barclays Wealth have been in the crosshairs for regulators for some time. Last year the bank was fined by the FCA for failings in its anti-money-laundering controls linked to a secretive GBP1.88 billion deal it arranged for a number of rich clients between 2011 and 2012. The deal in question was never logged on a Barclays computer and documents were locked in a specially bought safe that few staff knew existed.

The Barclays executive who ran its wealth unit, Tom Kalaris, retired in 2013. Barclays has since ratcheted back plans to build a major wealth franchise. The unit is now part of Barclays's retail bank.

Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 14, 2016 10:03 ET (14:03 GMT)

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