Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the letter of 30 October 2017 from Ross McEwan, Chief Executive, Royal Bank of Scotland, to the Chair of the Treasury Committee published by that Committee on 31 October 2017, what assessment he has made of the validity of the allegations made by the Skilled Person's report commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority on (a) widespread inappropriate treatment of SME customers of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), (b) systematic failure by RBS towards its SME customers, (c) material financial distress caused by RBS towards its SME customers and (d) implications of the turnaround findings referred to by Mr McEwan in that letter.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a detailed summary of the main findings from the skilled person’s report. The FCA announced it is investigating the matters arising from the report and focussing on whether there is any basis for it to take further action. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further whilst this process is ongoing.