Former Barclays trader fined $1.2 million by Fed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Board said on Monday that it had fined a former Barclays Plc foreign exchange trader $1.2 million (915,611.17 pounds) for manipulating trades. The former trader, Christopher Ashton, allegedly used chat rooms to coordinate investments and disclose confidential information in foreign exchange trades, the regulator said. Through his London lawyer, Ashton declined to comment. Barclays also declined to comment. Monday's action followed the board's May 2015 enforcement actions against Barclays for unsafe and unsound practices related to foreign exchange markets, the Federal Reserve said. Barclays was required to pay $342 million at that time. In that case, the bank had settled with the New York state financial regulator and faces civil lawsuits stemming from the alleged abuse. (Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jonathan Oatis)