The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) £1.4 million over advice failures on Keydata structured products.

The building society has also agreed a £50 million compensation provision for customers and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

According to the financial regulator, N&P will make ex gratia payments amounting to £51 million to all customers.

The FSA found N&P had advised 3,200 clients to invest in Keydata products over a period of three years without properly assessing many customers' financial circumstances.

It reported some customers had been moved out of low risk products into Keydata investments, putting income and capital at risk.

A third-party review of a sample size of investors discovered the average amount invested in Keydata plans was £18,871, out of an average portfolio size of £113,760.

Tracey McDermott, acting director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, said, 'N&P failed in its basic duty to provide suitable advice to its customers, despite an internal compliance report pointing out that there were problems as early as 2007.

'Firms cannot treat customers fairly unless they pay attention to their financial circumstances and attitude to risk when they make recommendations. This is the only way to prevent widespread mis-selling like this.'

The building society will commission an independent review of sales of other financial products sold by its financial advice service, and pay redress where appropriate.

N&P would have been fined £2 million had it not agreed to settle at an early stage of the FSA's investigation.

In a market statement, Gordon Horsfield, chairman of N&P said, 'The society is committed to its members and has been deeply concerned for those customers who bought these products and who lost out following Keydata's administration in 2009.

'Our aim in making ex gratia payments is to put that right and we are very sorry for the hardship and anxiety that they have suffered.'