10,000 sign up to action group fighting RBS

City Editor

Wednesday 10 October 2012

THE investor group pursuing Royal Bank of Scotland for billions of pounds claims 10,000 small shareholders have signed up to its campaign.

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TIM SHARP CITY EDITOR

The RBOS Shareholder Action Group had previously reported having 8000 members, whose fees vary according to the size of their shareholding.

A spokesman said: "Demand has been strong over the summer and it has been picking up in September."

He said the group would remain open to new members for another month.The group also claims backing from around 90 institutional investors.RBOS Shareholder Action Group is seeking between £3.5 billion and £4bn from the 82% state-owned lender on the grounds disclosures relating to its £12bn fundraising in 2008 were inadequate. Its case is that this makes the bank liable for losses incurred by investors who participated.Months after the rights issue, the bank had to be rescued with a £45bn Government bailout that left it overwhelmingly owned by the taxpayer.Sources suggest the group, which has hired London-based law firm Bird & Bird, could be in a position to serve a writ on RBS, former chief executive Fred Goodwin, chairman Sir Tom McKillop and ex-investment banking boss Johnny Cameron before Christmas.RBS has been the subject of several sets of legal proceedings in the United States but none has so far been successful.In recent weeks, two separate legal cases, one involving holders of preference shares and another concerning those who bought securities called American Depositary Receipts, have had claims dismissed by US courts. These are still potentially subject to appeal.The action group previously delivered a letter of claim to the bank in March, which RBS responded to in June.The legal action threatens to be a distraction to the bank whose chief executive Stephen Hester told The Herald this week he is hopeful customers will soon perceive it as a normal financial institution.An RBS spokesman declined to comment.

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10,000 sign up to action group fighting RBS

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