THE MAN who was the head of Bank of Scotland's heavily criticised corporate division has received a punitive fine by the Financial Services Authority, it was reported yesterday.

The FSA would not confirm or deny a report Peter Cummings, the former head of the Bank of Scotland's corporate division, had received a seven-figure fine and a "warning notice".

It is thought Mr Cummings disputes the FSA decision and it is likely to go to the Regulatory Decisions Committee, an independent body that acts as a tribunal and has the power to overturn FSA decisions.

Mr Cummings, from Dumbarton, was banker to some of Britain's wealthiest entrepreneurs when he was head of his bank's corporate lending decisions.

Last month, a damning report from the city watchdog said Bank of Scotland was guilty of "very serious financial misconduct" in the run-up to its collapse and the £20 billion taxpayer-funded bailout of its parent company HBOS, which is now owned by Lloyds Banking Group.

HBOS, at the time the country's biggest mortgage lender, breached rules requiring banks to put in place adequate risk management systems, the FSA said in its report, as well as ignoring warnings from its internal risk officials and external auditor KPMG.