The FSA is investigating payments Barclays made to countries or people that have been sanctioned by the U.K. Treasury. The FSA probe runs parallel with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that was initiated in 2007.
Barclays believes the impact of the FSA probe could be substantial, according to Bloomberg. Recently, Lloyds TSB Bank Plc paid $350 million to settle a case regarding processing payments that allowed Iran and other sanctioned countries to access U.S. financial markets.
Barclays disclosed the FSA’s probe yesterday in a statement detailing its earnings for the second half of 2009, Bloomberg reports.