Bank of England bans former Co-op boss from senior bank roles

By Jane Merriman and Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England banned the ex-boss of Co-operative Bank from holding senior jobs in the sector for life on Friday for his role in prioritising profit at the expense of stability at the lender, which came close to collapse.

It is the first time British regulators have barred a former bank CEO, as they try to instil what they call the right "tone at the top" in an industry tarnished by the financial crisis and scandals, including attempted rigging of the Libor interest rate benchmark and currency markets.

The BoE's supervisory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority, also banned another former senior Co-operative Bank executive from top level positions in British banking.

The enforcement action comes at a time when Britain's other banking regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, is under the gun for ditching a review into banking culture.

Barry Tootell, former chief executive of the Co-operative Bank Plc, and Keith Alderson, a former managing director of the Co-op Bank's corporate and business banking division, were also fined 173,802 pounds ($249,440.63) and 88,890 pounds respectively.

Co-op Bank nearly collapsed in 2013 with a 1.5 billion pound ($2.2 bln) hole in its capital after losses from problem real estate loans. Bondholders ultimately took control of the bank, while its longstanding owner, the mutual Co-operative Group (42TE.L), became a minority holder.

"The actions of Mr Tootell and Mr Alderson posed an unacceptable threat to the safety and soundness of the Co-op Bank which is why we have decided a prohibition is appropriate in these cases," Andrew Bailey, BoE Deputy Governor and CEO of the PRA, said.

Bailey also said Britain's new Senior Managers Regime, due to come into effect in March, would do more to ensure that senior managers are held responsible for their actions.

But Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the British parliament's Treasury Select Committee, said that Britain's first ever ban for a former bank CEO suggested how regulators have hitherto lacked the determination to use existing rules to the full.

"They have to be capable of exercising enough judgement to interpret the rules, and determined enough to apply them. They appear to have been so in this case," Tyrie said.

The PRA said that between July 22, 2009 and May 10, 2013, Tootell was centrally involved in a culture within the Co-op Bank which encouraged putting the short-term financial position of the company above taking prudent and sustainable actions to secure its longer-term capital position.

It also said that between Aug. 1, 2009 and May 13, 2013, Alderson did not ensure Co-op Bank adequately assessed risks arising from the corporate loan book of Britannia Building Society, which merged with Co-op Bank in 2009.

The PRA and the FCA jointly censured the bank itself last August for regulatory breaches, but decided not to impose a 120 million pound fine in case it undermined the bank's financial stability.

The regulator said it recognised that Tootell and Alderson did not deliberately or recklessly breach regulatory provisions and no findings of dishonesty or lack of integrity were being made in relation to them.

As Tootell and Alderson settled with the regulator at an early stage, a 30 percent discount was applied to their fines, the watchdog said.

(Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Susan Fenton)