FCA reviews allegations into poor treatment of small firms by RBS

17th Jan 2014 10:55

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a review into the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) treatment of struggling small businesses.Government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson has accused the 82% government-owned lender for pushing firms into its Global Restructuring Group (GRG) "turnaround" unit, in order to charge higher fees and interest, and take control of their assets.Consultancy Promontory Financial Group and Mazars, an accounting firm, will conduct the independent review which will be paid for by the bank.Findings of the review, which will consider allegations of poor practice, will be published in the third quarter. "The review will also consider whether any poor practices identified are widespread and systematic. If this is the case, the second stage of the review will identify the root cause of these issues and make recommendations to address any shortcomings identified," the FCA said in a statement.Shares in RBS fell 0.57% to 369.40p at 11:09 on Friday.RD