FCA cleared on summary of RBS report

The financial regulator’s summary of an independent report probing how Royal Bank of Scotland’s controversial restructuring unit treated small business customers was “fair and balanced”, specialist advisers declared yesterday.

However, in written evidence to the Treasury select committee, Andrew Green QC said the interim summary of the Global Restructuring Group (GRG) report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had omitted “certain findings about GRG management’s state of knowledge of the failings in GRG”.

He added: “In consequence, there are material omissions from the interim summary as to the state of knowledge of GRG’S management about the failings in GRG.

“We do not express that conclusion as a criticism of the FCA or its advisers, because the omission of such findings has been candidly identified in the introduction to the interim summary; and they have explained the reasons for it.

“Those reasons are based on considerations of fairness towards individual members of management, who have not (in the FCA’S view) had the opportunity to make representations on those ‘state of knowledge’ findings.”

However, in broader terms, Green wrote that the FCA and its advisers had “gone to considerable lengths” to be fair and accurate in summarising the GRG report, and “closely reflects the tone and narrative of the GRG report”.

RBS has been dogged by allegations that it intentionally pushed small firms towards failure in the hope of picking up their assets on the cheap. 0 Royal Bank of Scotland chief, Ross Mcewan