FinTech clearing house the Bank of London has agreed to pause taking on new clients while it enhances its controls against financial crime, the Financial Times has reported.

The restriction, noted on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) website, has been formally in effect since 18 March, but the bank says on its website that it voluntarily ceased taking on new clients in August of last year. It requires that Bank of London does not onboard new customers without the written consent of the FCA and does not have a definitive end point.

The FCA declined to comment to the Financial Times on whether it was investigating the bank over its financial crime controls or other matters.

The news comes just days after the bank was fined £2 million by the UK’s other financial watchdog, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), over fraudulent documents produced under Bank of London’s previous chief executive. The bank was found to have failed to “conduct its business with integrity,” according to the PRA.

The bank lost £23.97 million in 2024, according to its most recent annual filing – over £10 million more than it lost in 2023. It attributed the loss to the cost of setting up non-technological infrastructure and “hiring the high-calibre workforce required to continue to develop our capabilities and banking platform.”

The loss was in line with directors’ expectations, the bank said at the time.

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