The Bank of London Group has been fined £2m by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for misleading the regulator over its capital positions.

The financial penalty is in relation to failings that occurred between October 2021 and May 2024.

A PRA investigation found that the Bank of London Group and its parent financial holding company, Oplyse Holdings, also failed to act with integrity, failed to be open and cooperative with the regulator, and failed to maintain adequate financial resources.

This is the first time the PRA has fined a firm for failing to conduct its business with integrity, and the first time the PRA has taken enforcement action against a parent financial holding company of a firm.

Both the Bank of London Group and Oplyse Holdings failed to comply with their regulatory capital requirements “over an extended period”, the PRA said, while the investigation also found they repeatedly misled the regulator as to their actual capital positions. Most seriously, this included providing the PRA with several fabricated documents intended to provide a false picture of the capital position.

Deputy governor for prudential regulation and CEO of the PRA, Sam Woods, said: “Trust in banking in the UK requires integrity and open communication with the PRA from all banks, regardless of their size.

“The Bank of London Group and Oplyse Holdings fell well below our standards, resulting in today’s penalty which marks the PRA’s first finding against a firm for acting without integrity.”

The PRA said the breaches in the case had warranted a financial penalty of £12m, although the Bank of London Group and Oplyse Holdings both demonstrated that payment of such a penalty would have caused them serious financial hardship, before the regulator agreed to reduce the penalty to £2m.

A spokesperson for the Bank of London Group said: “The bank accepts the PRA’s findings and regrets the failings identified. As is acknowledged in the final notice, since the change in ownership, the bank has changed its management team and invested heavily in processes and controls and engaged third parties to assist in their remediation activity.

“The bank has been implementing a comprehensive remediation programme, and is continuing work to strengthen further its governance and risk management arrangements, and its financial and regulatory reporting controls.

“The Bank, its new management and its investors remain committed to an open, transparent and constructive relationship with the PRA and FCA. The board and leadership team are confident that, with these legacy matters settled and with the backing of its investors, the bank will continue to enhance trust and be able to return to growth in 2026.”

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