Regulators at the Bank of England warned prosecutors at the UK's Serious Fraud Office that their attempts to bring criminal charges against Barclays over crisis-era capital raisings could lead to harmful, unintended consequences for the bank.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Sam Woods, chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, raised concerns about the action with David Green, the SFO’s head at the time, in 2017.