FCA and PRA launch investigation into Co-op failures

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have launched an investigation into failures at the Co-operative Bank which led to its recent £1.5bn rescue.

The investigation could result in substantial financial penalties being imposed on the bank and its former directors if they are found to have acted recklessly while at the helm. The regulatory probes have joined a host of other ongoing inquiries into the bank, including one from the Treasury Select Committee, which will hear evidence from FCA director of supervision Clive Adamson on Tuesday. The former mutual suffered from the result of its merger with the Britannia Building Society in 2009, which largely created the bank's £1.5bn blackhole from toxic assets including commercial loan...