Skilled Person Case Reviewer
London
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) appointed Promontory Financial Group, supported by Mazars, to conduct an independent skilled persons review under section 166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000 into the Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of small business contacts in financial difficulty. The FCA announced on 17 January that Promontory and Mazars were appointed to carry out this Review. The report examined Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) treatment of business contacts in financial difficulty and consider allegations of poor practice set out in the report by Dr Lawrence Tomlinson and referenced in Sir Andrew Large’s reportThe terms of reference for the review were set out in a Final Requirement Notice issued by the FCA to RBS Group and required the Skilled Person to form a view on RBS Group’s treatment of SME customers referred to (or managed by) GRG during the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2013 (the “Relevant Period”), and:• To assess the validity of the allegations of customer treatment in the Tomlinson Report and, where relevant, points raised by Sir Andrew Large; and• If inappropriate treatment of customers is identified, to form a view on whether it was widespread and/or systematic.The Requirement Notice provided for two distinct aspects to the work and required the team to form a view on RBS Group’s treatment of SME customers referred to GRG, through a review of policies, procedures, other relevant documentation, a representative sample of customer cases, interviews and, where appropriate, using market comparators.I was appointed as a Skilled Person Case reviewer on the project, reviewing a selection of customers files, undertaking customer and bank staff interviews and compiling detailed reports for inclusion within the final document.