Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to implement the Tomlinson report.

Mr Tomlinson’s report called for an independent investigation of allegations about bank treatment of businesses in financial difficulty. This Department therefore passed the report to the financial services regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Serious Fraud Office. The FCA has subsequently appointed Promontory Financial Group and Mazars to conduct an independent skilled persons report under section 166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. The first stage of the review is considering Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of a sample of customers referred to its Global Restructuring Group. If the review reveals that poor practices are widespread and systematic, a second stage will identify the root causes and make recommendations to address the shortcomings. In addition, the FCA has sought confirmation from other relevant banks that they are satisfied that they do not engage in any of the poor practices alleged in the report.

The FCA expects that the skilled person will report outcomes from the review in early 2015.