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FRC Launches Investigation Into Former B&B Director

Stephen Little, Reporter, London, 23 January 2014

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The Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into former finance director of Bradford & Bingley Christopher Willford for his failure to update the bank's board on its deteriorating financial position during the height of the financial crisis.

The [tag|Financial Reporting Council|]Financial Reporting Council[/tag] has launched an investigation into former finance director of Bradford & Bingley Christopher Willford for his failure to update the bank's board on its deteriorating financial position during the height of the financial crisis.

In December last year, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority fined Willford £30,000 for failing to provide the board with up-to-date information about B&B’s financial position, including profits, mortgage arrears and re-possessions, ahead of its 2008 rights issue.

"Following the final notice issued by the FCA in December 2013, the Financial Reporting Council  has launched an investigation under the Accountancy Scheme into the conduct of Chris Willford, the former group finance director at Bradford & Bingley," the FRC said in a statement.

According to the FCA, on 16 May 2008, Willford received information that suggested that B&B’s financial outlook might be weaker than expected. As the bank was preparing to raise capital through a rights issue, this should have immediately been raised with B&B’s board and investigated to ensure that the information provided to shareholders about the rights issue on 19 May was correct.

The FCA said that the information Willford received was out of kilter with previous forecasts, and showed that bad mortgage debts, arrears and repossessions had all risen, whilst the difference between the interest rates B&B paid to, and received from, its customers had fallen. This was particularly significant as it suggested B&B could have fallen short of forecast profit for the year.

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