7th April 2020 – slow burn LAUNCH – Banking Victims For A Future 2020 + (BVF2020+)From today we will only publish occasional relevant articles as this website is now in maintenance mode.
Sat 4 April – “Definition of “Madness”
Sun 5 April – Perceptions and Learning
Mon 6 April – “For those who Dare”
Tues 7 April – Spending our Time and prior experiences of “impossible” situations
Wed 8 April – Credibility makes a Difference
The Hunger Strike by RBS four-nation people, three males and one female, in solidarity with Virgin Money UK-NAB Remediation Support Group and Lloyds Remediation Support Groups (and Danske), from 26th August, is suspended until a further decision at the time of the budget on 11 March 2020 and further suspended due to COVID-19 with a scheduled review in mid April, as RBS remains 62% owned by us the taxpayers.
RBS Annual Report 2019 – 14 February 2020
“We champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive”
Whilst announcing that “The Edinburgh-based bank, which owns RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank, said it would rename itself as NatWest Group.”
NatWest-RBS Remediation Support Group is established to assist SME Members in obtaining recompense for damage to their businesses by NatWest-RBS. We are a founding member of Banking Victims For A Future 2020 +
RBS Share Price as at dates below.
Tuesday 01 October 2013 – 357 p per share (Ross McEwan appointed CEO )
Friday 27 August 2018 – 363 p per share
Monday 12 August 2019 – 246 p per share (-48%)
Tuesday 27 August 2019 – 185 p per shareFriday 1 November 2019 – 215 p per share (Alison Rose appointed CEO)
31 March 2018 - RBS peak and outstanding financial supportLet’s not forget the National Audit Office reports that UK taxpayers in financial crisis, 2008 +
Victoria Inn Peckham sold undervalue by RBS
Two members of the government SAGE, John Edmunds and Sir Jeremy Farrar, have said it is too early to lift the lockdown given the number of COVID19 cases and the need for test, trace and isolate to be in place.
@SMEAllianceLtd @efgbricklayer @FarndonDavid @shirtoffmyback_ @Ian_Fraser @The_Foreclosure @HeenanGray @RBS_RemSupGroup @kevinhollinrake @jameshurley @nw_nicholas @LindsayHoyle_MP So after 15 years of sheer hell.. The #BBRS have capped historic bank claims at £350k !! 🙄 #Joke
.@TheFCA & @JohnGlenUK should write to all mortgage lenders telling them to implement the new affordability test by July so that mortgage prisoners are able to switch as soon as possible after the end of #Coronavirus payment holidays.
https://www.appgmortgageprisoners.com/post/mortgage-prisoners-need-urgent-action-on-unfair-rates-affordability-tests-scope-of-fca-regulation
In Parliament / Regulator
December 2010 FSA Press statement – 298 words
It said:
The issues we investigated do not warrant us taking any enforcement action, either against the firm or against individuals. […]
The FSA cannot publish the content of the RBS review as information gathered from the bank during the course of the review remains confidential under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
(FSMA).
In the light of the scale of the failure of RBS and the widespread public interest in understanding the reasons for that failure, the Treasury Committee regarded the statement of the FSA as wholly inadequate. On 13 December 2010, the Chairman of the Treasury Committee wrote to Lord Turner, Chairman of the FSA to request that the FSA reconsider its decision not to publish the findings of its investigation.”
December 2011 – The failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland – FSA Board Report – 452 pages
October 2012 – Treasury Select Committee – The FSA’s report into the failure of RBS – 97 pages
“In the absence of pressure from the Treasury Committee the FSA would not have produced this Report into the failure of RBS. This should not have been the case. The Board, and especially the non-executive Directors of the FSA, should have ensured that a comprehensive Report on the failure of RBS was produced without the need for Parliamentary intervention.
We expect the non-executive Directors of its successor regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, to play a more robust role in ensuring that the two bodies review their own decisions and fulfil their duty to assume accountability for their actions to the public and to Parliament consistent with the Treasury Committee’s previous recommendations in our Reports on Accountability of the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.”
November 2013 – The Lawrence Tomlinson Report – Bank Lending Practices – Treatment of Businesses in distress – 20 pages
8 November 2016 FCA published a high level of Promontory findings on RBS GRG.
Treasury Select Committee Chair Mr Andrew Tyrie MP
Q12 Chair: So do we, and we will be writing to RBS and to you to obtain a good deal of the further detail. We do have some interesting information. You need to bear in mind that some of us have been at this—I have—since well before the Andrew Large report, which we were also instrumental in triggering back in 2013. We are talking about something going back four years and more, where we have been battling to get something done to help the people who were hit by this. We were told, when we first pressed it, that this was all a load of old baloney and that it was just put forward by people who were in distress about the fact that they were running firms that were insolvent anyway. We now have some answers to these questions. It seems, from what was put out at 7.00 this morning, that while a third of the firms would have been in insolvency or administration regardless of RBS’s action, most of the rest probably would not be, or at least they were badly treated by RBS. That is correct, is it not?
Andrew Bailey: We have given a quite detailed summary of the findings.
Q13 Chair: It is pretty shocking, do you not think?
Andrew Bailey: Yes. Let’s be clear: two-thirds were viewed as viable at the point when they were put into GRG. Now, it does not mean it is wrong to put them into GRG. It means that they were subject to—
Chair: They experienced some form of inappropriate action.
Andrew Bailey: Yes, exactly. They were subject to a list of inappropriate actions that we set out in the note, which was a summary of Promontory’s findings.
Q14 Chair: Of the third that should, in any case, arguably have been in GRG’s hands, how many of those were maltreated? After all, the fact that you are running an insolvent business does not mean to say you should be fair game.
Andrew Bailey: The important point, from our perspective, is that this sets up, as you said, a more robust process for assessing the claims of these people under the complaints scheme. That has been our concern all along. Promontory has looked at a larger sample than any previous report. It has drawn sensible conclusions around that. It is now over to the process to handle those claims.
Q15 Chair: The Treasury Committee will be expecting much more detail of how this scheme is going to operate. What we certainly do not want is compensation getting to the point where it is being paid before we can tell whether it is reasonable.
RBS William Blackburne – Original RBS announcement published 8 November 2016
RBS is also responding to the FCA’s update on its review into the treatment of SME customers in the bank’s former Global Restructuring Group (GRG) between 2008 – 2013 and its summary of the Promontory Financial Group report.
As the bank has acknowledged, in some areas, it could have done better for SME customers in GRG. Specifically, the bank could have managed the transition to GRG better and should have better explained to customers any changes to the prices or complex fees it was charging. The bank accepts that it did not always communicate as well or as clearly as it should have done. The bank also did not always handle customer complaints well.
RBS notes that the FCA’s update confirms that no evidence was found that the bank artificially engineered a position to cause or facilitate the transfer of a customer to GRG or identified customers for transfer for inappropriate reasons and that all SME customers transferred to GRG were exhibiting clear signs of financial difficulty. The update makes clear that there were no cases where the purchase of a property by West Register alone gave rise to a financial loss to the customer and that there was no evidence of intent for West Register to purchase assets being formed prior to the transfer to GRG. It also states that, in a significant majority of cases, it was likely that RBS’s actions did not result in material financial distress to these customers.
As a result of the historical issues identified, RBS is taking two important steps for those SMEs in the UK and ROI that were customers in GRG during the period between 2008 – 2013. This activity is designed to address the bank’s failings.
A New Complaints Process for those customers in scope, overseen by retired High Court Judge, Sir William Blackburne. Sir William’s appointment as Independent Third Party adds a robust, transparent and independent step to the complaints process, should SME customers who were in GRG wish to complain about their treatment or challenge the bank’s decision on a previous complaint.
An Automatic Refund of Complex Fees paid by SMEs in the UK and ROI that were customers in GRG during the relevant period. This will save customers from further delay, ensure that the bank can start refunding fees more quickly and demonstrate our commitment to addressing issues of the past.
These proposals have been developed with the involvement of the FCA which agrees that these are appropriate steps for the bank to take. RBS will provide further details of the new complaints process on its website.
The bank estimates the costs associated with the new complaints review process and the automatic refund of complex fees to be approximately £400m, to be provided in Q4 2016. This includes the operational costs of both the fee refund and the new complaints process, together with the refund of complex fees and additional estimated redress costs arising from the new complaints process.
It is important to remember that the period in question, between 2008 – 2013, was a very challenging time for the bank and its customers. In 2008, there was an unprecedented increase in SMEs falling into financial distress and the number moving into GRG increased by around 400%. RBS lost more than £2bn from lending to SME customers.
RBS continues to cooperate fully with the FCA and remains keen to understand, and learn lessons from, any conclusions that the FCA draws in its review. It would not be appropriate to comment further on that review until those conclusions have been published.
Ross McEwan, CEO of RBS said:
“We have acknowledged for some time that mistakes were made. Some of our customers went through what was a traumatic and painful experience as a result of the crisis. I am very sorry that we did not provide the level of service and understanding we should have done.
“Although the FCA review into the historical operation of GRG continues, we believe that now is the right time to deal with the areas where we accept some customers were let down in the past. I am pleased that with the agreement of the FCA, we are able to announce a new complaints process overseen by Sir William Blackburne, alongside an automatic refund of complex fees paid by SME customers who were in GRG between 2008 – 2013.
“The culture, structure and way RBS operates today is fundamentally different from the period under review. We have made significant changes to deal with the issues of the past, so that the bank can better support SME customers in financial difficulty whilst also protecting the bank’s capital.”
Latest published Quarterly review by Blackburne
31 October 2017 Treasury Select Committee Nicky Morgan – RBS GRG
Q11 Chair: Nicky Morgan The point about widespread bad practice is that one of the FCA’s objectives is integrity: “to promote, protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system”. Widespread bad practice by a bank like RBS surely goes to the heart of attacking the integrity of the UK financial system.
Before you answer that, I just want both of you to think about the way the report is received by those who have lost their businesses. We do not take up individual cases as a Committee, but we are obviously also constituency Members of Parliament, and all of us have had people coming to us who have been affected by this, including constituents who saw me on Friday who did not know about the compensation scheme. I find it extraordinary that that has been the big thing, rather than getting to the heart of what has happened and uncovering the widespread bad practice. These are constituents who have not just lost their businesses; in many cases, they have lost their homes; they have lost their mental health or are having mental health challenges; they have had family breakdowns. I really wonder how they would look at this report and think it has satisfactorily addressed what has happened to them.
Do you have confidence in this report and the reaction to this report, by both the FCA and RBS, in terms of the rather complacent attitude that widespread bad practice is not sufficient to attack the integrity of the UK financial services sector?
Andrew Bailey: Can I make a couple of points on that? First, I think the report is strongly critical of RBS. It is frankly unfortunate that RBS has not accepted that more readily. I think they should do. As you say, a lot of time, effort and work have been spent on this. That is important.
The second point is you quoted our market integrity objective, which is absolutely true, but I want to come back to a point that John made earlier, which complicates this whole case, which is that this activity is outside the perimeter of our regulatory powers. That is even more so in a retrospective case like this for a reason I will come on to. It is outside the Regulated Activities Order.
Also, prior to the senior managers regime—and bear in mind the senior managers regime has been in place for 18 months for banks now—the approved persons regime, which was the predecessor regime, only gave us powers inside the regulated perimeter. The senior managers regime changes that in an important way, but we cannot apply it retrospectively. Now—and I have been very clear on this with some people who have approached me on this issue—RBS’s handling of cases today and the way in which they handle the redress process in particular is covered by that, in my view, irrespective of whether it is inside or outside the perimeter. What we cannot do is go back and apply that retrospectively.
Q12 Chair: Mr Griffith-Jones, what do you say to those individuals and those who have lost businesses or been affected by this? How are they meant to receive this report?
John Griffith-Jones: I completely understand where they are coming from. I have always thought the most important thing, as I have already said, is to put them right. At the end of the day, the words are comforting but, to the extent there is money due or it can be put right, that should be prioritised. Inevitably, whether it is 39 pages or 300 pages, you are not immediately satisfied if it does not provide you with the justice that you think you are entitled to. I understand that position. I am very keen for the redress process to take place.
February 2018 – The Treasury Committee set the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the deadline of 16 February to publish the skilled persons’ report (Section 166) into RBS’ treatment of small business customers in its Global Restructuring Group (GRG).
If they were unable to meet this deadline, the Committee ordered the FCA to send the report to the Committee by the same date. The FCA did not publish the report on 16 February, so, therefore, sent it to the Committee.
The Committee has today agreed to publish the final, unredacted report immediately.
Chair’s comments (commenting on the publication), Mrs Morgan said:
“The findings in the report are disgraceful. The overarching priority at all levels of GRG was not the health and strength of customers, but the generation of income for RBS, through made-up fees, high-interest rates, and the acquisition of equity and property.
The Committee has not taken the decision to publish lightly. Normally, reports prepared under section 166 are confidential, but there is an overwhelming public interest in bringing transparency to what happened at GRG, given the earlier leak of the report, and in ensuring that everyone can see, and know that they are seeing, an authentic and verified copy of Promontory’s original report.
We have today published the terms of reference for our inquiry into SME finance. We’ll examine what must change to prevent what occurred at GRG from ever happening again, and how to restore confidence among SMEs in banks as a source of finance. I encourage all those with views to submit evidence.
As well as continuing to monitor the FCA’s further investigation into GRG, we’ll keep a close eye on
RBS’ Complaints Process to determine whether it is providing the fair and reasonable compensation that has been promised to mistreated customers. Any person referred to in the report is invited to make any observations to the Committee.”
October 2018 – Treasury Select Committee – SME Finance – Misconduct and Regulation in SME Banking
Conclusions and Recommendations
82. The length of time taken by the FCA to investigate events at RBS’s Global Restructuring Group has left those who saw their livelihoods destroyed understandably incensed. The Committee shares their concerns.
83. The FCA is not taking enforcement action against the perpetrators of the misconduct at GRG, but this must not be interpreted as a “not guilty” verdict. SME customers were treated appallingly, and because of shortcomings in regulation, this mistreatment is likely to go unpunished. The Committee views this inaction as a damning indictment of the regulatory regime and a sad reflection of its inadequacies. GRG exemplifies a regulatory framework that is failing the UK’s small businesses.
84. The FCA itself concedes that the failures at GRG might ordinarily have triggered disciplinary action had they occurred in a regulated business. That we have a regime in place that allows this sort of behaviour to take place with impunity is simply unacceptable. The victims of misconduct—who have seen those that destroyed their businesses go unpunished—rightly expect change.
85. Experience has shown that the justification for leaving commercial lending outside the regulatory perimeter is feeble, and it is unclear whether this issue was subject to sufficient public debate when the regulatory perimeter was first established. Many small business owners are no more financially sophisticated than everyday consumers, yet they will often be required to engage with relatively complex financial products. They may also lack the resources to purchase the appropriate advice or expertise externally. To deprive them of regulatory protection because of an assumed universal sophistication is wrong, and this unfairness is compounded by the fact that most SMEs are unaware of the regulatory position. In addition, the interconnection between personal finances and business finances can mean that the potential for personal catastrophe due to SME banking misconduct is significant. The Treasury and the FCA should introduce a regulatory regime that protects SMEs. The scope of the regime must be based on an appreciation of the varying levels of financial sophistication within the SME community. This will require analysis of the financial sophistication of the UK’s SMEs that goes beyond blunt metrics covering headcount and turnover.
86. The Committee recognises that bringing commercial lending within the regulatory perimeter will not be a ‘silver bullet’. But doing so would afford the FCA a significant amount of discretion as to how to design and implement a regulatory regime. This regime would need to be proportionate—taking account of the potential impact on the supply of credit to SMEs—and targeted at those SMEs that show the greatest need for additional protection.
87. The FCA’s plans to drive up conduct standards in the SME lending market by using industry codes of conduct will not provide SMEs with the protection they need. The idea is untested and, as Andrew Bailey acknowledges, industry codes do not have a track record of success. Firms cannot be compelled to sign up to voluntary codes of conduct, and the FCA’s initiative may lead to these codes being watered down if they are drafted in the knowledge that they may be enforced against in future.
88. Mr Bailey told the Committee that if the initiative does not work, the regulatory perimeter will need to be reconsidered. The Committee considers it unwise to take a ‘wait and see’ approach; the authorities should get on the front foot by taking action that they know will provide adequate protection to SMEs. It is clear that extending the regulatory perimeter is now necessary. Waiting for another high-profile misconduct scandal before pursuing it would be irresponsible. This episode has raised wider questions about the perimeter of regulation, which the Committee continues to consider.
Nicky Morgan responds to FCA’s final report on RBS’s GRG
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today (13 June 2019) published the final report on its investigation into RBS’s treatment of SME customers transferred to its Global Restructuring Group (GRG).
Commenting on the publication, Rt Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee, said:
“This long-overdue report will offer no solace to those who suffered from the disgraceful actions of RBS’s GRG.
“As the Treasury Committee said in our SME Finance Report last year, the FCA should now be given the powers to regulate commercial lending to adequately protect SMEs.
“Disappointingly, the Government did not see a case for doing so; it should urgently reconsider its position. Otherwise, scandalous events such as those at GRG could re-occur.
“The Government should also reconsider its rejection of the Committee’s proposal for the introduction of a Financial Services Tribunal for SMEs to settle disputes with their bank.
“The Committee continues to take an interest in the progress of the complaints process and urges RBS to ensure that the remaining complaints are dealt with swiftly and fairly.
“The Committee may choose to raise this with the FCA when we take evidence from them on 25 June.”
25 June 2019 – Treasury Select Committee – RBS GRG questions and Andrew Bailey responses.
2 August 2019 TSC report The FCA – the perimeter of regulation
The Treasury Committee and the perimeter
13. Concerns about the perimeter and its complexity have featured in the work of previous Treasury Committees. The Treasury Committee in the 2010–15 Parliament concluded in its Report Conduct and competition in SME lending that so-called Tailored Business Loans (TBL) sold by Clydesdale bank had specifically been designed with the perimeter in mind:
From the point of view of the customer, the services provided by the hedging element of a loan with an embedded interest rate hedging facility—such as a Tailored Business Loan—and a stand-alone IRHP [Interest rate hedging product] are extremely similar, if not identical. But stand-alone IRHPs are regulated, while loans with embedded interest rate hedging facilities are not. It is a logically inconsistent result of the perimeter of regulation that products whose effects may be identical fall on both sides of the perimeter.
Clydesdale understood that TBLs were unregulated. It created TBLs to avoid requirements imposed by the regulator on the sale of a regulated product, IRHPs. It claims that this was to simplify the associated documentation and to make the product easier for customers to understand. The use of TBLs has left regulators powerless to enforce compensation for customers to whom products were mis-sold, as they have done with IRHPs. Clydesdale created a product that retained the risks and complexities of the regulated product but had none of the safeguards. 11
14. Issues around the perimeter have also been present in the work of the current Treasury Committee. The following list provides examples of topics the Committee has considered or queried that have elements of perimeter complexity to them:
- RBS’ Global Restructuring Group (GRG), and the wider issue of SME lending.
- ‘Mortgage prisoners’ (those who face barriers to switching their mortgage).
- The failure of London Capital and Finance, and wider questions around the regulation of so-called ‘mini-bonds’.
- The regulation of Cryptoassets.
- The regulation of Funeral plans.
15. Many of these issues have seen significant harm done to consumers and small businesses. For example, in the course of its work, this Committee has heard first hand the considerable distress to SME owners brought about by RBS GRG. In part, it led this Committee to initiate its wider inquiry and Report into SME Finance. Subsequently, there has been widespread disappointment at the FCA’s inability to take action following its publication of its Report on the Financial Conduct Authority’s further investigative steps in relation to RBS GRG, due to the constraints of the Perimeter.12 Mr Bailey, when asked whether he would recognise that “there will be individuals out there who feel they have not had justice?”, replied “Yes, but I cannot operate outside the law. I am sorry”.13
16. The perimeter of regulation, as has been seen in the Committee’s work, appears to be confusing for consumers of financial services, whether they be individuals or small businesses. In fact, that lack of understanding may well be preyed upon. Some firms may also deliberately game the perimeter to undertake regulatory arbitrage.
17. Care needs to especially be taken where regulated financial institutions are undertaking an activity that is itself unregulated. Often the realisation that an activity is unregulated comes only after problems emerge, and the regulator’s lack of power becomes apparent to those affected.
18. The Committee recommends that where regulated financial institutions undertake unregulated activity, the regulatory system should ensure that clear and explicit warnings are provided at that point, with the potential consequences of the lack of regulatory cover clearly explained, with sanctions for firms that fail to do so. HMG / HMT response to the report is outstanding.
HMT response to Regulatory Perimeter report on 10 October 2019 Interim Chair Catherine McKinnell said “It was disappointing <..> that the Government does not see the case for providing a formal power for the FCA to request changes to the perimeter.”
In the FCA’s response, which the Committee received on the 14 October and has published today, Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, said: “We share the Committee’s view that there could be a more structured and transparent approach for identifying and engaging with HMT on perimeter changes. This could allow for a regular opportunity to consider what activities are covered by regulation, and hence transparency surrounding changes to the FCA regulatory perimeter.”
Commenting on the FCA’s correspondence, Ms McKinnell said:
“The Treasury Committee has recommended that the FCA is given the formal power to suggest changes to the Government over what it regulates, which could help the FCA to protect consumers.”
“Disappointedly, yet perhaps unsurprisingly, the Government rejected our recommendation, opting instead to keep the opaque system as it is.”
“The independent FCA, on the other hand, shares our view, rather than the Government’s that a more formal or structured approach would provide greater transparency to the process”
“The Committee awaits the work promised by both the FCA and the Government, and we will continue to raise these issues in our evidence sessions.”
Some background
31 October 2017 Brian Little email exchanges with SS – then Parliamentary aide to John Mann MP
SS – Great re John’s Perimeter Question / comment at TSC this morning, following our discussion and sight of the attached letter from my MP Jim Shannon
Hi Brian, “Yes—the main committee sent it to us as part of their briefing back on Friday. Hope that you felt the questioning covered good ground.”
Q50 John Mann: ………………. One final question/request is that you referred earlier to things being outside the regulatory perimeter. I have heard that before from you and your predecessors, and indeed on a totally separate issue with the Advertising Standards Authority, which is in similar dialogue over your powers in terms of currency exchange.
Andrew Bailey: That is not a perimeter issue.
Q51 John Mann: It is indeed. It is an entirely different aspect. In terms of my question, would you be prepared to provide to this Committee—and it might take some time, but we are not in a rush—the precise areas of powers that you do not have that it would be useful for this Committee to consider whether you should have, both in relation to the GRG issue and what you describe as being outside the regulatory perimeter, but perhaps for other issues as well? That is something that we have never had. It is a big piece of work but, for a new Committee coming into a five year Parliament — possibly, legally, that is our presumption and our mandate is for five years—it would be significantly useful to the work of this Committee. I am not asking you which ones you desperately think you should have, and we might come back to you on that of course, but which ones you do not have so that, when you are saying, “We cannot do it,” be it in correspondence or be it in exchange, we are clear, so we can think through what our responsibilities and powers are to change that.
Andrew Bailey: The answer to that is yes. I agree with you it is a good idea. It is a good idea also because, as I said earlier, it has changed in interpretation as a result of the senior managers regime, which we are still introducing by the way, because we have a very big roll-out of that to the non-bank world next year, so I agree with you. We know the case we are talking about. The issue with the Advertising Standards Authority is we do not think we have the power to enforce their decision. It is not really a perimeter issue.
John Mann: I am sure in a future meeting we will come to that. The Chair would rule me out if I went on to that now, although it is a very important issue. I would need several questions, so I will defer that.
In the newspapers / Useful Links for RBS RSG Bank Victims
SME ALLIANCE – Website for victims of Banks generally
10 May 2011 PPI – Lloyds abandons PPI court action and background articles in Daily Telegraph
Royal Bank of Scotland became the last of the UK’s major banks to announce its provisions against PPI claims, and followed that of recently appointed Antonio Horta-Osario as CEO of Lloyds Banking Group last week <5 May> “which became the first of the UK’s big banks to withdraw its support for the BBA appeal as it said it had agreed a £3.2bn provision to meet PPI claims.”
3 December 2011 – Telegraph – Will the FSA answer the questions about RBS collapse at last
11 April 2014 – Clifford Chance – Independent Review Lawrence Tomlinson – Bank lending practices
21 July 2014 – Private Eye – Call to inaction – HBOS – RBS
16 October 2017 – FT – RBS excludes thousands of small businesses from compensation
30 October 2017 – Ross McEwan – TSC correspondence RBS GRG FCA
November 2017 independent review of RBS treatment SMEs referred to GRG
5 December 2017 – Times – Watchdog kept RBS scandal report secret for fear bosses would sue
24 May 2018 – Lexlaw – RBS to Expand GRG Redress Scheme Lexlaw
29 May 2018 – Times – RBS scandal law firm Clifford Chance to face inquiry
24 October 2018 – Times – RBS earmarks £2bn fund for small business
19 November 2018 – Times – Fair banking plans ‘will not help firms’
11 January 2019 – Times – Small firms lose battle for bank dispute tribunal
28 January 2019 – Times – City regulator denies failings after leaking whistleblower’s complaints
15 February 2019 – Letter to Lloyds Bank from Kevin Hollinrake MP Re signatures
18 February 2019 – Times – OP-ED – Wide support for a financial services tribunal, act now – Stewart Hosie MP – Member of the Treasury Select Committee
21 February 2019 – Letter to Kevin Hollinrake MP from Benedict Brogan – Lloyds Bank re signatures
8 March 2019 – Times – Victims ‘won’t trust’ bank redress scheme for small companies
11 March 2019 – Times – Companies should be allowed to choose how best to deliver justice
11 March 2019 OP-ED Companies should be allowed to choose how best to deliver justice – Ned Beale : litigation partner at City law firm Trowers & Hamlins
12 March 2019 – SME ALLIANCE related documents – Press Release
19 March 2019 – Hansard Link to Urgent Question regarding John Guidi ‘Hunger Strike’ in the Lords
20 March 2019 – The APPG Accepts its Place on the Implementation Steering Group.
2 April 2019 – James Hurley – Big Banks ready to extend Dispute Scheme.
4 May 2019 – William Turvill – Mail on Sunday – Article on Cerberus – Hounds of Hell.
9 May 2019 – Rachel Wolcott – Thomson Reuters – Senior Managers accountable for SME treatment.
23 May 2019 – Reuters – Banks Gamed FCA & SME’s.
13 June 2019 – FCA Report further investigation RBS GRG
13 June 2019 – Financial Times – FCA says it lacked powers to act over disgraced RBS unit
13 June 2019 – Times – RBS GRG FCA – explains lack of action over RBS small business scandal
21 June 2019 Rachel Wolcott, Regulatory Intelligence, Reuters: FCA’s 15-month interest-rate swap redress review to hinder claims, say industry officials.
25 June 2019 – TSC- Andrew Bailey public confidence
27 June 2019 – CITYAM – FCA must stop making excuses and act to avoid another GRG scandal
25 July 2019 – Times – James Hurley : Walkout threat hits bank compensation scheme for small firms
4 August 2019 – Sunday Times – Andrew Bailey warns Boris Johnson
5 August 2019 – Times RBS loan victims get new route to compensation
22 August 2019 Lindsay Rogerson, Regulatory Intelligence, Reuters : Business Banking Resolution Scheme on track for UK Launch at end of year
23 August 2019 – Letter to Lloyds Bank from Kevin Hollinrake MP regarding LLoyds BSU’s
24 August 2019 – Times – Hunger strike over bank “whitewash”
25 August 2019 – Mail On Sunday – Nationwide Hunger Strikes
25 August 2019 – Guardian – UK banks face week of hunger strikes and protests
30 August 2019 – BBC News – Bristol hunger strike protester says Lloyds ‘destroyed’ his life
2 September 2019 – Times – Clive May Working Life
7 September 2019 – Times – Banks accused of forging signatures
10 September 2019 – Times – Banks’ payouts in PPI scandal will reach £50bn
10 September 2019 – Times – Pressure on National Crime Agency for action over bank forgery claims
10 September 2019 – Times – PPI scandal – The cash cow that turned sour
11 September 2019 – Times – If Rose has been chosen for the top job at RBS, then why the silence
17 September 2019 – Times – Collateral damaging for Bailey
18 September 2019 – Times – It may be too early to draw a line under banks fake signature scandal
21 September 2019 – Times – RBS chief Ross McEwan leaves thorny issues in Alison Rose
22 September 2019 – RBS boss faces hunger strike on Day 1 – William Turvill – Mail on Sunday
24 September – Times – We did not pass buck on bank forgery, says National Crime Agency
4 October 2019 – letter to Lewis Shand-Smith from Kevin Hollinrake regarding BBRS
8 October 2019 – Reuters – BBRS scheme update
11 October 2019 – Times – Financial Conduct Authority to be denied extra powers
10 October 2019 – CITY AM – HMT – TSC – Regulatory perimeter
10 October 2019 – FT Advisor – Government denies new powers to FCA
11 October 2019 – Reuters – HMT – TSC – Regulatory perimeter
12 October 2019 – Times – Business commissioner Paul Uppal leaves over conflict of interest
14 October 2019 – Times – storm clouds gather over banks bid to make peace
14 October 2019 – FT – Opinion Inside Business – Accounting – prudence
15th October 2019 – Salisbury Journal – John Glen constituency office
17 October 2019 – FCA response – TSC regulatory perimeter
17 October 2019 – Times – Watchdog frustrated by inaction on new powers
18 October 2019 – Reuters – TSC on FCA perimeter
23 October 2019 – Times – Ex-RBS boss Derek Sach to be questioned over Global Restructuring Group
24 October 2019 – Insider – RBS swing to third quarter loss following PPI hit
28 October 2019 – Times – Andrew Bailey interview – SMEs
31 October 2019 – Reuters – UK TSC chair’s company counts big banks as customers
6 November 2019 – Times – RBS GRG Scandal Morley evidence
9 November 2019 – Times – RBS customers rejecting incentive to switch banks
25 November 2019 – Reuters – BBRS update
27 November 2019 – Times – HBOS compensation report delayed for a second time
28 November 2019 – Times – Former financial regulator to mediate in bank clashes
18 December 2019 – JOHN GUIDI SCOTTISH HUNGER STRIKER APPLICATION FOR PUBLIC AGM OF NAB
22 December 2019 – Times – BoE Governor Andrew Bailey
8 January 2020 – Times – Ministers need to put some pride back into the City watchdog
11 January 2020 – Times – Banks forging signatures on industrial scale
21 January 2020 – Times – Johnson set to clash with banks over lending gap
21 January 2020 – Times – Lloyds Bank halts small business lawsuit after Andrew Bailey steps in
24 January 2020 – Times – Britain badly prepared for market crash says Andrew Bailey
25 January 2020 – Times – Police can’t cope with avalanche of fraud cases
26 January 2020 – Mail on Sunday – Lloyds bill over HBOS fraud debacle could climb to £500m
29 January 2020 – Reuters – bank conduct crossroads
29 January 2020 – SOFT LAUNCH; Banking Victims For A Future 2020 + – Open Letter to PM
30 January 2020 – Times – Sack John Glen now
31 January 2020 – BBC – Troubles victims pensions BBC
2 February 2020 – Sunday Times – Royal Bank of London Alison Rose
4 February 2020 – Hansard – Lloyds, HBOS and the Cranston report
5 February 2020 – Times – Life in the hot seat will be no bed of roses for the new boss of RBS
9 February 2020 – Sunday Times – Beware of the watchdog
10 February 2020 – Times – Top bankers risk shareholder revolt over £10m pay awards
11 February 2020 – Reuters – Mortgage Prisoners FCA see case for law change
15 February.2020 – Times – State ready to offload RBS stake
15 February 2020 – Times – Scottish hit back at RBS name change
15 February 2020 – Times – Rose and the thorny issue of RBS
16 February 2020 – Times – New chancellor Rishi Sunak cashed in on fund that helped break banks
20 February 2020 – Times – History proves a guide to solving disputes
29 February 2020 – FT – Criticism mounts for Farcical RBS-funded scheme
4 March 2020 – Times – RBS switch scheme to be reformed
6 March 2020 – Reuters – BBRS Cranston
6 March 2020 – FT Advisor – TSC – FCA
8 March 2020 – Sunday Times – New Bank boss must act to put out a fire that nobody foresaw
8 March 2020 – Sunday Times – How to handle challenger banks
11 March 2020 – BOE interest-rate-cut- transcript Press Conference Highlights
12 March 2020 – Reuters – FCA’s Bailey says mortgage prisoners face “real harm”, calls on all lenders to treat
customers fairly
12 March 2020 – Reuters -COVID-19 bank support package
18 March 2020 – Times – Banks have a chance to right the wrongs of the last financial crisis
18 March 2020 – Times- Cash lifeline is promised for homeowners and businesses
19 March 2020 – Times – Andrew Bailey pledges unlimited loans to stop companies going under
19 March 2020 – FT – MPs urge govt to extend FCA powers
20 March 2020 – Times – Coronavirus loan scheme will fail small businesses
20 March 2020 – Times – CORONAVIRUS Scrap Bonuses Buybacks etc
20 March 2020 – COVID.19 – Reuters – Bank of England Governor, UK lawmakers warn industry against
21 & 22 March 2020 – UK Finance advertising PR – Working together to support the Nation
22 March 2020 – Sunday Times – Coronavirus the dash for the door
22 March. 020 – Sunday Times – Rishi Sunak’s pledges sow hope – and confusion
22.March 2020 – Times – We can’t let bosses hold us to ransom again
24 March 2020 – Times – Conronavirus Business customers struggle to contact banks for crisis loans
24 March 2020 – Times – CORONAVIRUS Lenders take hit on fees to support new loan scheme
24 March 2020 – Times – Conronavirus Business customers struggle to contact banks for crisis loans.
24 March 2020 – Mortgage Prisoners – Payment holiday letter
25 March 2020 – Times – Companies could wait weeks for rescue loans
25 March 2020 – Times – Bank activates liquidity plan to ensure lenders have funds
25 March 2020 – Times – Cash may no longer be king, but it’s vital that we have access to it
26 March 2020 – Times – Emergency loans prompt fury among directors
26 March 2020 – Times – Remember the heroes and villains of this crisis
26 March 2020 – Times – Banks urged to scrap billion pound payout
27 March 2020 – Times – CORONAVIRUS – Banks give way on rescue loans after outcry over terms.
27 March 2020 – Times – CORONAVIRUS – We’ll do whatever it takes, central banks vow
27 March 2020 – Times – Bank urged to put block on £7.5bn dividends
27 March 2020 – Times – CORONAVIRUS – Small firms most fearful as economic confidence sinks
27 March 2020 – Times – Coronavirus prompts No 10 to suspend housing market
27 March 2020 – Times – Trail of destruction left by virus is worse than 2008
27 March 2020 – Times – Hi ho silver lining. Every crisis has its heroes and its villain.
29 March 2020 – Sunday Times – We saved the banks in 2008 – now they are failing us
29 March 2020 – Times – Coronavirus – FCA summons council of war
29 March 2020 – Sunday Times – Capitalism won’t be killed by the coronavirus
30 March 2020 – Times – Stop bank dividend payouts, Andrew Bailey told
30 March 2020 – Times – Business must agree a new social contract with voters to restore trust
30 March 2020 – Times -Tough economic decisions will litter the road ahead once Covid over
30 March 2020 – Times – Britain faces 6 months of coronavirus curbs
31 March 2020 – Times – Sting will be in the tail of remarkable but vital action to rally economy
31 March 2020 – Times – Banks face losses in the billions as loans go bad
31 March 2020 – Times – One in five small firms may be forced to shut for good
31 March 2020 – Times – Confidence swings into a downward spiral
31 March 2020 – Times – ANALYSIS – Dividend payouts leave banks with painful dilemma
31 March 2020 – Times – BUSINESS COMMENTARY – Barclays Blunder
31 March 2020 – Times – Concessions on ‘wrongful trading’ risk causing serious consequences
1 April 2020 – Times – Dividends are thorny issue for banks
1 April 2020 – Times – Confidence slumps to lowest level on record
1 April 2020 – Times – MORNING BRIEFING
1 April 2020 – Times – Banks must resist urge to swill champagne when the crisis is over
1 April 2020 – Times – Banks scrap dividends and bonuses under pressure from regulator
2 April 2020 – Times – Bankers show we’re not in it together
2 April 2020 – Times – Companies expect to run out of cash within weeks
2 April 2020 – Times – Prolonged lockdown will ‘trigger a rebellion’
2 April 2020 – Times – Confidence among manufacturers slumps to lowest level on record
2 April 2020 – Times – Why Bank had to crack whip to get dividend ban
2 April 2020 – Times – Banks are in an invidious position but have vital role in any recovery
2 April 2020 – Times – Bailout scheme to be overhauled for small businesses
3 April 2020 – Times – We’ve been betrayed, say the small firms fighting for survival
3 April 2020 – UK HMT – Press release – Business Interruption Loan scheme
3 April 2020 – SME.Alliance – Press Release
3 April 2020 – BBC – Small business worry coronavirus loans
4 April 2020 – Times – Virus brings UK economy to its knees
4 April 2020 – Times – Companies close doors to investors at annual meetings
4 April 2020 – Times – Business lending U turn at Nationwide
5 April 2020 – MoS – Jacob Rees-Mogg’s firm is accused of profiteering from coronavirus
5 April 2020 – Sunday Times – The Treasury must mend its flawed
5 April 2020 – MoS – Economists warn the UK economy could shrink by an eye
5 April 2020 – Sunday Times – We’re staring at a Great Depression
5 April 2020 Mail on Sunday – JEFF PRESTRIDGE Banks are hardly covering themselves in glory
5 April 2020 – Sunday Times – How do you model a crisis like the coronavirus
6 April 2020 – Times – Small companies are riding to the rescue of country in crisis
6 April 2020 – Times – If we’re truly all in this together, executives need to feel the pinch on pay
6 April 2020 – Times – Lockdown to cost £2.4bn a day as economy crashes
7th April 2020 – slow burn LAUNCH – Banking Victims For A Future 2020 + (BVF2020+)From today we will only publish occasional relevant articles as this website is now in maintenance mode.
11 April 2020 – Times – No way out for the prisoners of the last financial crisis
12 April 2020 – Sunday Times – Bungled bank coronavirus loans leave small firms on the brink
12 April 2020 – Sunday Times – Coronavirus brings the corporate pay party to an end
13 April 2020 – Times – Crunch week looms for small companies’ emergency grants scheme
13 April 2020 – FT – Auditors clash with directors over the question of ‘going concern’
15 April 2020 – Times – Support schemes are failing to help vast majority of small businesses
15 April 2020 – Times – Worst slump since the 1930s
15 April 2020 – Times – Emergency cash is not reaching small businesses
15 April 2020 – Times – Two million could lose jobs in the coronavirus lockdown
16 April 2020 – Times – Companies demand clarity on business interruption loan figures
17 April 2020 – Times – Banks are blaming EU for their loan failures
17 April 2020 – Times – Banks lining up to claim their dues
17 April 2020 – Times – Treasury’s Covid-19 dilemma as it counts cost of tearing up loans rulebook
18 April 2020 – Times – Bailey leans toward 100% guarantee for state credit
19 April 2020 – Times – Sam Woods interview. I had to threaten the banks over dividends
19 April 2020 – Times – Crunch time for companies as Rishi Sunak is pushed for 100% loans
23 April 2020 – Times – Lockdown risks ruining economy
24 April 2020 – Times – Emergency loans are doubled in ‘crunch week’ for small firms
24 April 2020 – Times – Treasury’s dash for cash to fund rescue
24 April 2020 – Reuters – BBRS update
28 April 2020 – Times – Coronavirus.Small businesses invited to take loans of up to £50,000
29 April 2020 – Times – Fear of fraud in state-backed loans for smaller companies
29 April 2020 – Times – Profitability is going to be a bigger issue than ever for banks
29 April 2020 – Times – Bank bosses are investigated over ‘abuse’ during equity-raisings
30 April 2020 – Times – Bank of England rode to government’s rescue as gilt markets froze
1 May 2020 – Times – Emergency coronavirus loans pass £4bn but approval rate is slowing
2 May 2020 – Times – Emergency company loans to be pitched with 2.5 interest rate
5 May 2020 – Times – Banks have got ahead of the curve when it comes to cheap money
5 May 2020 – Times – Small firms have big problems, CBI survey reveals
5 May 2020 – Times – Flood of virus loan requests
7 May 2020 – Times – Sharp slowdown could leave lenders with losses of £80bn, says Bank of England
7 May 2020 – Times – Coronavirus pandemic could cause deepest recession on record
7 May 2020 – Times – Banks face £25bn loan default bill
8 May 2020 – Times – Delays to bank loans ‘put small businesses at risk
12 May 2020 – Times – Small firms risk being buried under £105bn debts
13 May 2020 – Times – 1 in 3 small firms may shut for ever, warns FSB
13 May 2020 – Times – Small firms snap up £8bn emergency loans in a week
21 May 2020 – Times – Bank governor Andrew Bailey warns companies to raise equity
22 May 2020 – Reuters – FOS & BBRS
25 May 2020 – Times – WORKING LIFE – The scramble to give business a champion when banks go bad
28 May 2020 – BBRS Webinar 1 transcript
04 June 2020 – BBRS Webinar 2 transcript
07 June 2020 – Sunday Times – Tick, tick – Race to defuse the £107bn coronavirus debt timebomb
07 June 2020 – Sunday Times – Bank of England alert over £36bn toxic loans
16 June 2020 – Jim Shannon – John Glen BBRS legacy cases.
16 June 2020 – BBRS Webinar 3 transcript
17 June 2020 – Times – Lenders told to brace for wave of disputes on £38bn of coronavirus debt
21 June 2020 – Sunday Times – By Friday March 13, we were hearing, You’ll be next
24 June 2020 – Times – Britain’s new player at the sharp end of poker game with Brussels