Barclays pays $80,000 penalty



Barclays Bank has paid a penalty to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for withdrawing client funds without approval and failing to return the money for five business days.
The Market Disciplinary Panel (MDP) has issued an infringement notice to Barclays after it erroneously withdrew $13.8 million in client funds from its Barclays Client Segregated Account instead of its own in January last year.
The MDP attributed the mistake to the "carelessness of Barclays by failing to ensure that client monies were not withdrawn in error".
"The conduct of Barclays was further compounded by the fact that the erroneous withdrawal of $13.8 million in client monies was not identified, escalated and rectified immediately, but instead subject to discussions by various Barclays' international offices held over at least five business days," the MDP stated.
However, in determining the penalty the panel acknowledged that the bank had already reviewed and revised its policies around client funds, self-reported the incident and co-operated with ASIC in its investigation of the matter.
Recommended for you
The new financial year has got off to a strong start in adviser gains, helped by new entrants, after heavy losses sustained in June.
Michael McCorry, chief investment officer at BlackRock Australia, has detailed how investors are reconsidering their 60/40 portfolios as macro uncertainty highlight the benefits of liquid alternatives.
Having reset its market focus to high-net-worth advisers, Praemium’s administration solution has been selected by Bell Potter in a deal that increases the platform's funds under administration by $6 billion.
High transition rates from financial advisers have helped Netwealth’s funds under administration rise by $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25.