Barclays Finance Chief Investigated by FSA over Fundraising

The latest potential run-in with the regulators comes as the bank scrambles to pick up the pieces surrounding the Libor scandal which has already led to the resignations of four top directors at the bank.

As it announced £759m of pre-tax profits down 71% from the £2.6bn of profits last year, the bank suggested that the FSA believed that not all the fees had not been disclosed in £7.3bn fundraising mainly from Middle Eastern investors during the 2008 financial crisis. The fundraising helped the bank avoid a bailout by the taxpayer.

The bank said: 'The FSA is investigating the sufficiency of disclosure in relation to fees payable under certain commercial agreements and whether these may have related to Barclays capital raisings in June and November 2008. Barclays considers that it satisfied its disclosure obligations and confirms that it will co-operate fully with the FSA's investigation'.

No further details were provided as the chairman Marcus Agius once again apologised for the Libor scandal which has left the bank with a £290m fine and facing a wave of litigation that took up an entire page of disclosure in the half year results.

The bank also admitted it was taking a provision of £450m for the interest rate swaps products which were sold to small businesses but now being investigated by the FSA.

Agius had quit only to be reinstated as executive chairman in the wake of Libor scandal which has also forced chief executive Bob Diamond to quit under pressure from regulators.

'We are sorry for the issues that have emerged over recent weeks and recognise that we have disappointed our customers and shareholders. I speak for all of Barclays people when I say how determined we are to regain the full confidence of all our stakeholders; customers and clients, investors, regulators and staff alike', Agius said.

He will leave once a successor is found and his departure will follow that of Diamond, the chief executive operation officer Jerry del Missier who has received a near £9m payoff, and non-executive director Alison Carnwath.

The bank preferred to focus on an adjusted profit before tax of £4.3m, which was up 13% and stripped out a credit charge on its own debt of £2.9bn.

'The recent events have been challenging for Barclays and all those who work for the group. We continue to address the operational and control issues raised in connection with our Libor settlement with the US and UK authorities, many of which have been resolved over the course of the investigation', Agius said.

'Our citizenship agenda is now more important than ever; we have ambitious commitments that we must deliver and continue to evolve to address the issues that matter most to those we serve. We must focus on getting the fundamentals right – serving our customers and clients with integrity and maintaining the highest standards of service – while reviewing our business values and working to become more transparent', he said.

This article was written by Jill Treanor, City editor, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 27th July 2012 08.08 Europe/London

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