UK FCA Probes Barclays Over Anti-Money Laundering Systems

Britain's financial regulator is investigating Barclays PLC for suspected failings in its compliance and anti-money laundering systems, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requested an independent review of Barclay's systems last year after noting the number of anti-money laundering incidents, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The FCA wrote to the heads of Barclay's corporate banking and U.K. retail and wealth divisions requesting a "skilled persons review", or Section 166. Section 166 usually involves hiring an independent firm that produces reports with recommendations for improvement.

Last year, the Payment Systems Regulator fined Barclays 8.4 million pounds ($10.16 million) for not giving retailers full information about payment card costs.

(Source: Reuters)