Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will not withdraw restitution offers made to the victims of the restructuring scandal at its now-defunct unit Global Restructuring Group even if they choose to ask for independent oversight of their complaints, The (London) Times reported Feb. 5.
The promise comes following a recent perceived questioning by RBS Chairman Howard Davies of one of the key aspects of the bank's redress scheme for small- and-medium-sized companies mistreated by the unit, the newspaper noted.
Amid confusion that the bank planned to cancel compensation offers if companies made an appeal over the bank's decision to William Blackburne, who is providing independent oversight of the process, Davies told the Treasury select committee that "I cannot see that we would withdraw the offer having made it."
RBS has received 1,123 complaints since the start of redress scheme in November 2016. The bank has issued 206 decisions, out of which 27 cases have appealed, according to the report.
As complaints emerged from many of the companies transferred into the GRG that the unit drove them out of business and used them for RBS' own profit, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority commissioned a review of the division that was completed in 2017. RBS said in January that it had accepted the report's findings.
