The City regulator has slashed a fine to be paid by the former finance director of failed bank Bradford & Bingley to a fraction of the £150,000 penalty initially proposed.

Christopher Willford – who previously lost a legal fight to keep his name secret – has instead been ordered to pay £30,000 for failings ahead of a £300 million rights issue at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

In May, 2010, regulators had proposed a £150,000 fine but following submissions from lawyers and a tribunal hearing where he gave evidence this was cut to £100,000.

Now, the Financial Conduct Authority has narrowed the scope and timing of the misconduct to three days in May, 2008, while acknowledging that he was under intense pressure.

Mr Willford has been punished for failing to provide the board with up-to-date information about B&B’s financial position ahead of its rights issue in August, 2008.

The FCA said he failed to provide information,including profits, mortgage arrears and re-possessions, in spite of receiving information suggesting that B&B’s financial outlook might be weaker than expected.

As B&B was preparing to raise capital through a rights issue, this should have immediately been raised with the board and investigated to ensure that the information provided to shareholders about the rights issue was correct.

Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of financial crime and enforcement, said: “Willford failed to identify and investigate potentially material risks, or alert the board, at a crucial time for the firm. His conduct fell short of the FCA’s standards – senior managers should expect the FCA to take action if they fail to show due skill, care and diligence.”

The information Mr Willford received was out of kilter with previous forecasts, and showed that bad mortgage debts, arrears and repossessions had all risen, whilst the difference between the interest rates B&B charged to, and received from, its customers (net interest margin) had fallen.

The FCA said that was particularly significant as it suggested B&B could have fallen short of forecast profit for the year.

Mr Willford was B&B’s finance director between October 2005 and June 2009.

Bradford & Bingley decided to undertake a rights issue to raise capital on May 13, 2008, and on May 16 Mr Willford received information showing that money set aside against bad mortgage debts had reached £35.7 million, 63 per cent of the forecast for that year.

Arrears and repossessions over the last three months had risen to 2.16 per cent from two per cent in March, 2008.

B&B’s net interest margin fell to 0.9 per cent, compared to 1.06 per cent in March 2008.

Underlying pre-tax profit accumulated between January 2008 and April 2008 was only 24.3 per cent of the total forecast for the year.