After several years pending an appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision, Barclays has dropped its appeal plans and agreed to pay the fine.

The misconduct revolved around Barclays actions in 2008, which the FCA described as ‘reckless and lacked integrity’.

During the financial crash in 2008 many UK banks were given bailouts by the taxpayer, but Barclays decided not to take government backing. Instead Barclays struck a deal with Qatar sovereign fund, but it did not ‘treat their obligations to the market and shareholders seriously’, the regulator said.

The FCA found that Barclays had disclosed the details of an agreement with Qatari entities in June 2008 but failed to notify the FCA and investors about the October agreement, which Barclays’ shareholders would have not had any knowledge of.