Throughout months of engagement with Lloyds Banking Group, the Foskett Panel and the SME Alliance to improve the customer experience of the Re-Review Process, we pushed to make it clear that many victims of the HBOS Reading fraud simply cannot continue to wait any longer for compensation, having already waited 15 years. For that reason, we are pleased to announce the option for a single payout for all HBOS Reading victims worth up to £3m per victim, costing Lloyds Banking Group up to £600m.

During previous engagement, it was clear that all parties agree that the Foskett Panel is suitably assessing all aspects of each individual case, resulting in appropriate determinations being reached. In doing so, however, the Panel is required to spend a considerable amount of time ensuring that all evidence is considered and all due process followed, time that many victims are simply not in a position to wait out. Going through yet another compensation scheme has been and will continue to cause unacceptable distress, both financial and mental, to customers who have already been waiting for remuneration from the bank which mistreated them for a decade and a half.

As such, we welcome the opportunity for a rapid and final compensation payment for victims who would prefer a single payout, without waiting for the completion of the Foskett Panel process. We appreciate engagement from all parties for this conclusion and look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to ensure that this resolution is carried out effectively and efficiently.