RBS and Barclays raided
03/06/2008
In a move which has again put the banking sector in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons it has been announced that both Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland were raided by the UK Antitrust regulators twelve days ago. While it has been confirmed that the raids were in connection with the alleged price fixing of loans to various accountants, lawyers and an array of other professional services, little more information has been released.
Under the Office of Fair Trading’s ‘whistle blowing’ and leniency program the first company to come forward with evidence of price fixing is treated with leniency and likely to escape regulatory fines. It appears that it was Barclays Bank which broke ranks with the rest of the industry and came forward to report certain issues.
While Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are unwilling, and probably unable, to comment further on the investigation it seems as though it could turn into a major issue. There are already talks of substantial fines for those found guilty of the alleged practice and while the investigation will probably last sometime it will never be far from the headlines.
This is yet another serious issue for the UK Banking sector, a sector which has lost many friends over the last few months and seems to be losing the trust and confidence of the City.
