Clifford Chance has advised the Co-operative (Co-op) Bank as it has escaped being fined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) after it breached stock market rules.

The joint FCA-PRA investigation found that the bank had breached its listing rules by publishing misleading information about its capital position.

The PRA uncovered that the Co-op Bank had failed to manage its affairs responsibly and with adequate risk management. The investigation also found that the Co-op Bank had failed to be open and co-operative with regulators.

The bank would normally have been subject to a substantial fine; however, in light of the bank's financial position both regulators decided to issue the bank with a public censure instead.

Clifford Chance is understood to have represented the bank during the investigation, but the firm declined to comment.

The firm has been involved in a number of FCA investigations over the last year.

It represented Barclays Bank as it was investigated, alongside a raft of other banks, for its role in the foreign exchange rate rigging scandal. The bank was handed a record fine of £284m by the regulator in May.

The magic circle firm was also commissioned to report on the FCA's own practice in an investigation into long-term life assurance products in April last year. CC litigation partner Simon Davis, who led the review, wrote a report slamming senior figures at the FCA in December last year.

CC was also drafted in to conduct a review of RBS Global Restructuring Group's lending practices after RBS was accused of mistreating its customers in a report by entrepreneur Lawrence Tomlinson. At the same time the FCA started an investigation into the allegations.

Commenting on the Co-op Bank's case today, Georgina Philippou, the FCA's acting executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: "This is a serious matter, but exceptional circumstances mean a public censure is the appropriate and proportionate response. It is vitally important that Co-op Bank's capital resources are directed towards improving its resilience."

Co-op Bank chairman Dennis Holt, said: "On behalf of the bank, I would like to apologise again to customers for these past failings and reassure them that the bank is a significantly stronger organisation today under the leadership of the current senior management team."

An FCA investigation into senior individuals at the bank remains ongoing.

The Co-op Bank split from the wider Co-operative Group in 2013, although the Co-operative group remains a major shareholder in the Bank.

As Legal Week reported in June, the Co-op Bank is in the process of setting up its inaugural legal panel. It is understood that DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons and TLT have been invited to pitch for positions.

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