The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the US has fined Barclays Bank and its New York branch $15m for attempts to identify a whistleblower.
The DFS investigation found the bank guilty of breaching New York Banking Law as the bank’s CEO tried to unmask the author(s) of two whistleblowing letters.
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The bank motives were also found to be in contravention with its own established whistleblowing policies and procedures.
Several members of senior management also did not follow established procedures to protect the CEO and bank itself, the investigation concluded.
Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo said: “Whistleblowers are vital to uncovering and addressing intentional wrongdoing.
“DFS’s thorough investigation uncovered actions at the top that exposed the bank to risk and created an atmosphere in which employees might doubt that it was safe to escalate issues of concern to the bank.”
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By GlobalDataBarclays fined over appointment: Background
In 2016, anonymous person(s) forwarded two letters over the recruitment of a senior official for the bank’s financial institutions group in New York. The letters expressed concerns over the person’s eligibility to work for Barclays.
The investigation found that Barclays CEO Jes Staley had personally wrote to the head of Barclays’ Group Security to identify the author of the letters.
It stated that Staley was seeking to protect his newly appointed colleague as well as defend his own ability to hire people in senior positions.
However, it also acknowledged the cooperation that Barclays provided throughout the investigation process.
Vullo added: “The Department recognizes and appreciates Mr. Staley’s commendable and constructive steps to accept responsibility for his actions, apologise to employees of the bank, and recommit to DFS that he will oversee an independent and effective whistleblowing function.”
