A former non-executive director at Wyelands Bank, George Hambro, has been fined £72,000 by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for breaching its conduct rules.

The regulator said that Hambro’s conduct between July 2017 and February 2020 had fallen below the standards expected of someone in his position, and that he had demonstrated a “serious lack of due skill, care and diligence”.

Hambro’s failings related to the recognition of capital, large exposures assessments, and Wyelands’ internal policy to manage potential risks of conflicts of interest between Wyelands and the wider GFG Alliance.

Deputy governor for prudential regulation and CEO of the PRA, Sam Woods, said: “We have taken this action against Mr Hambro because his breaches and failings contributed to creating prudential risks which threatened the safety and soundness of Wyelands Bank.”

The PRA’s announcement follows on from decisions it made in April 2023 to publicly censure Wyelands for significant regulatory failings, and in January 2024 to fine the former Wyelands CEO, Iain Hunter, £118,808 for three conduct rule breaches.

Wyelands entered wind down in March 2020, subsequently repaid its unconnected depositors at the direction of the PRA and surrendered its PRA authorisation in April 2024.

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