Ex-Rock chief fined £320k for misreporting arrears
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The FSA has fined former Northern Rock finance director David Jones £320,000 for misreporting arrears for almost a year.
Jones has also been banned from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity. In mid-January 2007, Jones, along with former Northern Rock deputy CEO David Baker, agreed to allow false mortgage arrears figures to appear in text published alongside the 2006 annual accounts. Reporting correct figures would have either increased arrears by over 50 per cent or possessions figures by about 300 per cent.
Jones was responsible for the continued misreporting to Rock’s assets and liabilities committee and on a quarterly basis to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. He left Rock in April this year to concentrate on the FSA’s investigation. Prior to Jones’ departure, Baker and ex-managing credit director Richard Barclay were fined £504,000 and £140,000 respectively for misreporting arrears figures.
In a statement, Jones says: “I accept that I did not ensure that information on residential arr-ears prepared and presented by others was corrected to include certain accounts known as ’pen-ding possession cases’. However, I consider that the FSA’s conclusions and imposed pen-alty are both unfair and disproportionate.”
Jones received a 20 per cent discount for settling in stage two of the FSA’s executive settlement procedures.
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