Chairman Howard Davies made the following remarks:
“We welcome the conclusion of this investigation and the confirmation that no further action will be taken.
“The FCA has once again confirmed that no evidence was found to support allegations that RBS artificially distressed and transferred otherwise viable businesses to GRG or deliberately made them worse off to profit from their sale, restructuring or insolvency. It also found no evidence that any member of GRG’s senior management sought to treat customers unfairly or behaved in any other way that could call their honesty and integrity into question.
“The bank has acknowledged that some SME customers did not receive the treatment they should have done while in GRG during the relevant period and has apologised. We continue to focus on putting things right for these customers through our complaints process, with independent assurance and oversight from a retired High Court Judge, Sir William Blackburne. The FCA confirmed that this was an appropriate step to take.
“The way the bank deals with business customers in financial difficulty today is fundamentally different to the aftermath of the financial crisis, during what was a hugely challenging time for the bank, its customers and the wider economy. We are committed to ensuring that past mistakes cannot be repeated.”
