The Upper Tribunal has upheld the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to censure Craig Donaldson and David Arden, the former chief executive and chief financial officer of Metro Bank, for their roles in a serious breach of the Listing Rules.
The ruling confirms that both executives were knowingly concerned in the publication of materially inaccurate information to the market. At the heart of the case was a statement made by Metro Bank on 24 October 2018, in which it reported its risk weighted assets (RWA) and associated capital ratios without disclosing a significant error known internally at the time.
As a listed entity, Metro Bank was required to provide quarterly updates on its prudential position, including its RWA figures, which are fundamental to assessing a bank’s regulatory capital requirements. Despite being aware of the material misstatement, neither Mr Donaldson nor Mr Arden took action to correct the information or alert the market.
The discrepancy was not disclosed until January 2019, triggering a 39% drop in the bank’s share price once corrected figures were published. In December 2022, the FCA fined Metro Bank £10,002,300 for the breach, citing a failure to comply with its obligations under the Listing Rules.
Mr Donaldson and Mr Arden, who held their respective executive roles at the time of the October 2018 announcement, were both found to have played active roles in the decision to release the inaccurate data.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Investors make decisions based on information shared by listed companies. They must be able to trust it’s accurate. Mr Arden and Mr Donaldson allowed information they knew to be wrong to be published.”
