The Bank of England has imposed a GBP 11 million fine on Vocalink Limited, a financial market infrastructure firm.

Vocalink was regulated by the Bank of England as a specified service provider from April 2018. This type of firm typically operates UK payments systems.

According to official documentation, Vocalink initiated a remediation program in response to this issue and had until February 28, 2022, to meet the requirements set by the overall Direction. However, due to an ineffective risk management framework and several weaknesses in control mechanisms, governance structures, and escalation procedures, the firm was unable to fully comply with these requirements by the deadline.

Details of Vocalink Limited’s GBP 11 million fine

The Bank’s investigation revealed that the core issue behind Vocalink’s non-compliance was the lack of a sufficiently integrated risk management framework for the remediation program. This system was intended to ensure that risks related to the program could be properly understood, monitored, and shared among the three lines of defense as well as external assurance providers. The Bank also found that key risks and information were not escalated to senior committees effectively, which hampered the firm’s ability to fully adhere to the Direction’s requirements.

Furthermore, Vocalink has dedicated significant resources towards resolving these issues, leading to both the issuance of the Direction and subsequent compliance failure.

Vocalink’s cooperation during the investigation, including its early admission of a compliance issue, resulted in a 15% reduction in the fine. The company has agreed to settle this matter, qualifying for an additional 30% reduction. Consequently, without these reductions, the original fine would have been GBP 20 million.