The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
The annual report and accounts 2010-11 of the Asset Protection Agency (APA) has been presented to Parliament today.
The report contains commentary on key developments in relation to the APA and the asset protection scheme (APS) over the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011.
I am pleased to note the statements in the report that the likelihood of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) being able to make a claim under the APS has further receded and that the British taxpayer is therefore expected to make an overall profit of £5 billion from the APS. Moreover, the amount of covered assets has further reduced from £234 billion at scheme inception to £182 billion at 31 March 2011.
The APA has today also published a legal agreement relating to the APS. This aligns the operation of the scheme more closely with RBS’s regular “business as usual” finance and risk management process. This agreement is in addition to the supplemental agreements on the implied write-down trigger for long-dated assets, revised arrangements for the assessment of APS performance-related remuneration for relevant RBS staff and a move from annual to quarterly fees, which were outlined in the written ministerial statement laid on 15 February 2011. It is expected that this agreement will increase operational efficiency for RBS and the APA leading to reduced costs for both and, by extension, the taxpayer.