Press Release 30/1/19

​30th January 2019

Government Should Compensate Victims of RBS GRG Scandal

​SME Alliance, which supports business people in their disputes with banks, today called for the UK Government to come clean over accusations that it had day-to-day involvement and "strategic" control over RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) through the Asset Protection Agency. If it is proven that it did exert control, then the UK Government should compensate businesses ruined by the nefarious practices of the infamous GRG unit.
 
Said Nikki Turner, director SME Alliance, said: “SME Alliance was formed specifically because the abuse of SMEs by the financial sector was so blatantly obvious and so blatantly ignored by those who should have supported the sector. We realised we would have to fight hard collectively to redress the balance and get justice. We've spent years looking at the conduct of banks and their associates and only now are we beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
 
“It is devastating therefore - although not entirely surprising - to think the root of our problems lay with the Treasury back in the days of the so called 'credit crunch' and continued after the election under Cameron. If these allegations are proven this will be yet another reason why those responsible for destroying so many SMEs must be held to account, and that includes the Government which should compensate victims of GRG.”
 
An internal report by the Financial Conduct Authority into RBS GRG which showed that thousands of businesses forced into the unit were adversely impacted by the actions of the bank. However, the FCA claimed that it could take no regulatory action against RBS executives.
 
SME Alliance was formed in September 2014 to support SMEs “battling against fraud, corruption and misconduct in the financial sector” and to lobby for the fair treatment of businesses by their banks and advisors.