The APPG on Fair Business Banking is delighted that the Treasury Select Committee has been given an opportunity to inspect a full copy of the Promontory Section 166 report into RBS Group’s mistreatment of SME customers.
Clearly the right course of action remains to publish the report in full as soon as possible. All of those SMEs and entrepreneurs affected by this issue deserve nothing less. In the meantime, following the statement in the House today by Clive Lewis, Shadow Treasury Minister, that there has been an attempt to “sanitise” Promontory’s findings in the summaries released so far, it is imperative for the full report to be opened to the scrutiny of the Treasury Select Committee.
The central point that must be remembered is that any action that is taken as a consequence of this report must place at its core all of those people who have lost their livelihoods, jobs, homes, health and families, and in some cases their lives, as a result of the mistreatment that they faced.
Norman Lamb, APPG Co-Chair says: ‘There is a serious question for the FCA to address: it seems that the summary report fails to convey the seriousness of the abuses which took place within GRG. My concern is that the summary report was effectively misleading. It is deeply troubling that the regulator saw fit to hide the full scale of the abuse from the public and from all those affected’.
Kevin Hollinrake, APPG Co-Chair commented: ‘I have not yet been shown a copy of the report, but the accusation that the regulator has shielded the management of RBS from criticism is a very serious one. Fundamentally, it would call into question the willingness and ability of the FCA to effectively regulate our banks and to protect consumers and businesses from malpractice.’