Banking Competition Remedies

(asked on 4th January 2019) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with Banking Competition Remedies Ltd since the appointment of that organisation's board of directors.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 14th January 2019

The government agreed the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)-funded Alternative Remedies Package (the Package) with the European Commission (EC) in September 2017 as a resolution to RBS’ final State aid commitment to divest the part of its business known as Williams & Glyn. The Package was agreed on the basis that it is capable of having an equivalent positive impact on competition in the UK business banking market as the original State aid commitment.

Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) was established in 2018 as the independent body to implement and oversee the Package. HM Treasury has appointed an independent third-party monitor which reports regularly to HM Treasury on the performance of BCR. The Package consists of a £425m Capability and Innovation Fund (CIF) and a £350m Incentivised Switching Scheme (ISS).

The CIF comprises of 15 pre-determined grants divided into four pools, each with a distinct pro-competition purpose based on criteria agreed between HM Treasury and the EC. Eligible challenger banks and other financial services providers can compete for these grants to develop and improve their financial products and services available to SMEs, and to improve their capability to compete with RBS in the provision of banking services to SMEs.

BCR has responsibility for communicating information regarding the Package to the market. Further information on the Package, including eligibility criteria and timelines for implementation is available on BCR’s website: https://bcr-ltd.com/

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

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