THE Crown Office has said there is no basis for a criminal action over complaints about Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of small business customers.
Police Scotland received reports in October, last year, related to the bank’s disgraced and now defunct global restructuring group (GRG).
GRG has repeatedly faced claims that it deliberately forced small businesses to the brink of collapse so it could profit from their demise by selling off their properties. RBS has always denied the claims.
READ MORE: RBS memo bombshell: "Sometimes you need to let customers hang themselves"
It is understood Police Scotland were asked in 2016 by crown prosecutors to examine GRG's handling of clients.
A Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) spokesman said: “No formal prosecution report has been received, but information provided by Police Scotland has been reviewed by the COPFS Serious and Organised Crime Unit.
"Crown Counsel have concluded that there is insufficient evidence of criminal conduct. Should additional evidence come to light that decision may be reviewed.”
RBS set aside 400 million pounds to compensate thousands of small businesses that say they were mistreated by GRG.
The bank said last week that it was closing the unit to new claims after hearing from a fraction of the firms eligible, some of whom have said their firms were pushed into bankruptcy GRG and stripped of their assets.
RBS chairman Howard Davies said with the number of complaints continuing to decline, it was the “appropriate” time to give customers notice of its closure.
From the 16,000 firms eligible, RBS said it had received 1,230 complaints as well as a further 165 from customers outside of the scheme’s scope. The rate of complaints has fallen to six per week from a peak of 35 in December 2016, it said.
GRG handled some 12,000 troubled small firms between 2007 and 2012 alone.
Of the complaints it has received, RBS said it had concluded 803 cases, upholding in full or in part just under half of that figure. William Blackburne, a retired judge that oversees the scheme, has received 169 appeals against the bank’s compensation decisions. Of the 55 he has concluded, 15 were upheld.
The bank has received four claims for consequential losses so far, it said.
In addition to the 10 million pounds compensation for direct losses, the bank said it has offered 115 million pounds in automatic refunds for fees charged by GRG.
READ MORE: Wrongdoing by RBS restructuring unit ‘driven from the top’, says victims group
RBS which rejects the most serious allegations against the unit "noted and welcomed" the Crown Office decision but has previously accepted some wrongdoing.
In May, RBS extended the remit of the redress scheme to consider appeals for indirect losses following criticism of its handling of complaints from former customers and politicians.
The change was expected to increase payouts. RBS said last week that so far it had received four claims.
GRG is now the subject of a continuing investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority while a preliminary report found “certain widespread inappropriate treatment of SME customers” that “should also be considered to be systematic”.
RBS said it would write to all remaining eligible customers to inform them of the scheme’s closure to new complaints on October 22. After that date, customers’ only recourse will be the bank’s usual complaints’ procedure.
The bank has previously said it was "deeply sorry" for its treatment of businesses in the GRG.
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