LONDON â€" British authorities has banned a top British banker from working in the country's financial services industry for his role in the collapse of a major British bank during the recent financial crisis.
Peter Cummings, the former head of corporate lending at the British bank HBOS, also was fined £500,000 ($805,000) for his role in aggressive lending practices that eventually led to massive losses at the firm. The fine is the largest ever financial penalty by the Financial Services Authority, the British regulator, imposed on a senior executive for managerial failings.
Between 2006 and 2008, Mr. Cummings pursued an aggressive expansion of HBOS' lending practices, which led to major losses at the bank, according to a statement from the Financial Services Authority on Wednesday. HBOS was eventually bought by local rival Lloyds TSB, and the combined firm received a multi-billion dollar bailout from the British government in 2008.
The Financial Se rvices Authority said Mr. Cumming had failed to control the risks related to the increase in lending, and had created a culture of optimism that affect the firm's appraisal of its bad debts.
“Instead of reacting to the worsening environment, he raised his targets as other banks pulled out of the same markets,†Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime at the Financial Services Authority, said in a statement.
