BoE’s Bailey apologises to investors amid criticism over LCF collapse
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has apologised for his role in failing investors of collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance.
His apology came amid rising pressure about his responsibility in a series of scandals during his role as head of the Financial Conduct Authority.
On Monday morning, Bailey told BBC Radio 4 that he had said sorry to investors and that their losses should never have happened.
“When I was asked to become chief executive of the FCA it was in the context of recognising that there were a lot of problems to sort out,” he said.
“Those problems in many ways had their origin in the FCA taking on the responsibility for regulating consumer credit.”
LCF went into administration in January 2019 after the FCA asked it to withdraw its “misleading” promotion for its retail investment productions.
More than 11,000 investors lost out after the collapse, totalling more than £237m.
“I never said that I was not responsible for everything that went on at the FCA,” Bailey added.
“The particular issue was that the first draft of the report introduced responsibility and culpability together in an inseparable way, and they’re not the same thing.”
Bailey is set to respond to the Treasury Select Committee again over the matter, after an evidence session earlier this month revealed the watchdog plans to cut pay and bonuses for those involved in the scandal.