Former CEO of UK's Co-Op Bank admits misconduct in settlement agreement

(Adds period of exclusion in paragraph 3)

LONDON, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 28 (Reuters) - The former chief executive of Britain's Co-Operative Bank Plc, Barry Tootell, has admitted misconduct and agreed to be excluded from the country's main accounting body over his conduct while running the lender, which came close to collapse in 2013.

Tootell will make a 20,000 pound ($24,340) payment towards the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) costs.

"The period of exclusion (six years) imposed in this case sends a clear message to accountants of the high standards of professional conduct expected of them when undertaking important roles within business," said Gareth Rees, executive counsel to the FRC.

Tootell was banned in January by the Bank of England from holding senior jobs in the sector for life.

The Co-Operative Bank said the FRC had highlighted serious shortcomings in the way the bank was managed in the past, with the turnaround a lengthy and difficult process.

"The... current management team has, over the last three years, progressed the turnaround, having raised additional capital, achieved considerable de-risking, delivered mobile and digital banking capability and strengthened the bank's appeal to customers," the bank said in a statement.

($1 = 0.8217 pounds) (Reporting by Huw Jones and Simon Jessop; Writing by Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter)