KBL Solicitors urge businesses that have been affected by The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Restructuring Group (‘GRG’) to come forward as the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) redress scheme is to be announced imminently.

RBS are accused of exploiting SME’s across both its RBS and NatWest brands by deliberately engineering defaults and driving clients towards their internal distressed lending division, GRG. Customers were then hit with unnecessary fees which contributed to further deterioration in their business. Some were advised to transfer equity in satisfaction of debts to the bank and others went on to sell their businesses, often undervalued to RBS’s related company, West Register – an entity within GRG that purchased properties and benefited from the sale.

The FCA are in the process of conducting an independent review of RBS/NatWest treatment of business customers in financial difficulty as highlighted in Dr Lawrence Tomlinson’s report to the Government. Whilst the outcome is long overdue it is likely that the FCA will announce some form of redress scheme imminently and there will be limited time for those mistreated to bring a claim.

Michael Slater, Partner and Head of Commercial Litigation at KBL says “These cases are particularly distressing for those who have found themselves trapped in the clutches of GRG and we, as a firm, will put those effected businesses back in the position financially they would have been had the bank not done what it did.”

Michael Slater is a trained banking litigator with 20 years’ experience in bringing claims against others including banks and heads the five-strong team at KBL Solicitors.

KBL who have successfully secured in excess of £20million for local businesses exploited by banks in a scheme related to GRG claims known as Interest Rate Hedging Products (‘IRHP’) are offering a free review service to businesses who may have been affected by GRG. For more information, contact Michael Slater on 01204 527777.