LEXLAW Solicitors & Barristers
SMEs who claim they were mistreated by Royal Bank of Scotland’s turnaround division, GRG, await to see if the City regulator will set up an FCA-agreed GRG compensation scheme.
RBS has agreed to a £1 million settlement with a businesswoman who accused the bank of mis-selling complex derivatives. The case highlights banks selling unsuitable financial products to businesses. RBS initially denied wrongdoing but eventually agreed to the settlement, which includes repayment of derivative payments, break costs, and suspended payments. The businesswoman’s business was negatively impacted by the mis-sold derivatives, and the case exposes flaws in the Financial Conduct Authority’s IRHP review scheme.
Reports surface that Mark Spurin will take charge of the RBS GRG Review compensation scheme for ‘impacted SME’ victims.
The FCA is set to recommend a compensation scheme for businesses harmed by RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG), according to an upcoming report. While the GRG Review may be quicker than litigation, it is criticised for being unfair and limiting compensation. Victims are advised to consider parallel litigation, which is designed to ensure a fair outcome. GRG, a troubled business support unit within RBS, controlled assets of 16,000 SMEs before being disbanded in 2014 following misfeasance allegations.
Westgate Healthcare settled a legal dispute with RBS for £10m, involving alleged misrepresentation and breach of contract regarding an interest rate swap. Deemed too sophisticated for FCA’s compensation scheme, Westgate’s claim, initiated in April 2014, led to a settlement with RBS, who imposed confidentiality and accepted no liability.
RBS Clifford Chance report on swaps mis-selling is a “whitewash” attempt to downplay the bank’s wrongdoing and avoid accountability. The report is lacks independence and fails to address the full scale of RBS mis-selling. It has fueled calls for stronger action into bank misconduct.
A former RBS GRG Bank Manager at revealed they deliberately destroyed viable businesses to save the bank during the credit crisis. GRG charged excessive fees, intercepted payments, and stripped firms of assets, which were then sold through another RBS unit, West Register. The investigation featured a couple forced into bankruptcy by unjust fees, highlighting GRG’s hostile tactics.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a review into allegations against RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG), following claims of unfair treatment of businesses during the credit crisis. The review focuses on whether GRG used aggressive tactics that led to unnecessary fees, the stripping of assets, and forced bankruptcies. This follows whistleblower revelations and reports highlighting GRG’s controversial practices.
A report by Sir Andrew Large criticises RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) for its treatment of SMEs in financial distress. The report highlights GRG’s operation as an internal profit centre with opaque decision-making and poor governance. Customers often face unsettling decisions without clear recourse, lacking funds or expertise to challenge the bank. Large calls for a forensic inquiry into GRG’s practices to address conflicts of interest and improve the treatment of distressed SMEs.
The Tomlinson Report accuses RBS and Lloyds of unscrupulous practices through their turnaround divisions. It found the banks deliberately distressed viable businesses, charging excessive fees to force insolvency and acquire assets cheaply via property divisions like RBS West Register. The report describes these actions as systematic and institutional, damaging SMEs.