Split caps blunder leaves FSA red-faced

FSA admits to confidentiality blunder in split caps investigation.

10:23 17 May 2004

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has made a confidentiality blunder in its handling of the split capital trusts scandal, according to reports.

Details of three unconnected "enforcement" proceedings against individuals have been sent by the FSA to one of the 21 firms under investigation.

These details, which were wrongly included in a bundle of documents sent out by the FSA, were highly confidential.

An unnamed executive of the firm concerned has said the disclosure "makes me nervous about what's been happening to the sensitive information we've been sending the FSA".

According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the executive said the disclosure "makes a nonsense of all the fuss the FSA has been making to prevent us talking about the splits case".

The FSA's ability to withhold sensitive documents has already been questioned, after the regulator admitted it "lost or destroyed" files relating to mortgage mis-selling by Legal and General.