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Ex-Northern Rock boss fined and banned by FSA

FORMER Northern Rock finance director David Jones has been banned performing any function in relation to regulated activity and fined £320,000 by the FSA due to misconduct.

The charges are related to misconduct which started in mid January 2007 when he agreed, along with David Baker a former Deputy CEO, to allow false mortgage arrears figures to appear in explanatory text published with the 2006 annual accounts.

For nearly a year, Jones was responsible for the continued misreporting of arrears and possessions figures on a monthly basis to Northern Rock’s assets & liabilities committee and, on a quarterly basis, to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Jones received a 20% discount for settling in Stage 2 of the FSA’s executive settlement procedures. Were it not for this discount, Jones would reportedly have been fined £400,000.

Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime, said: “Even though other senior directors within the firm were involved in the misreporting of arrears and possessions figures, as a senior director himself and as an FSA authorised person, Jones had a duty to reveal the true position to the public and to important internal committees. He had numerous opportunities to put things right, but failed to do so.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .