Barclays Bank Plc has been fined £46.9 million ($76.8 million) by UK and U.S. financial regulators for failing to properly protect clients' custody assets worth £16.5 billion ($27 billion) after its U.S. wealth management business acquired the advisory business of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. As a result clients risked incurring extra costs, lengthy delays or losing their assets if Barclays had become insolvent. The UK fine of £37.745 million ($61.8 million) is the highest fine ever imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or its predecessor the FSA for client assets breaches. The fine reflected 'significant weaknesses' in the systems and controls in Barclays' Investment Banking Division between November 2007 and January 2012 and the number of affected accounts, the FCA said. Barclays also agreed to pay $15 million (£9.16 million) to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over compliance lapses associated with the Lehman advisory acquisition.
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