Pressure mounts for RBS report to be published

3rd Dec 2010 11:45

The FSA is coming under pressure to publish the full details of its investigation in the Royal Bank of Scotland's near collapse. RBS needed a £45bn taxpayer-funded bail-out to survive after it bought ABN Amro for €70bn in 2007 just as the credit crunch gripped the bank sector.After an 18-month investigation, in conjunction with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the regulator concluded that chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin and other former senior executives of RBS made 'bad decisions' but did not act fraudulently. The verdict sparked fury among taxpayers and bank workers and incredulity among City observers. "The report's conclusions are an outrage. It is unacceptable to suggest that the behaviour of the management in this iconic UK bank did not 'lack integrity' when they brought RBS to its knees," Rob MacGregor, Unite's national officer, said.Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said he has submitted a request for the report to be made available to MPs."We cannot learn the lessons of the worst corporate crash in British history if we can't see the evidence," Oakeshott told the Telegraph."Most people, taxpayers and City experts alike, simply will not accept there was no failure of corporate governance on the part of the management, board and regulator of RBS," said Lord Oakeshott commented.The FSA, which issued it findings in one-page summary, said it was required by law to keep the report confidential.A spokesman for The TaxPayers' Alliance said the UK public deserved a full and frank explanation of where their money has gone. "The lack of transparency and lack of explanation of how these decisions were made is worrying," it said.