British watchdogs fine Barclays CEO $870,000 for whistleblowing probe

LONDON (Reuters) - British regulators said on Friday they had fined Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley a total of 642,430 pounds ($870,428.41) for breaching conduct rules by attempting to identify who had sent letters criticising a Barclays employee.

The fine by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority included a 30 percent discount for Staley agreeing at an early stage to settle.

Regulators said the fine is only 10 percent of his overall pay package. While it draws a line under an episode some insiders had feared might cost him his job, Staley is the first sitting CEO of a major bank to face such a penalty.

Barclays had no immediate comment.

($1 = 0.7381 pounds)