RBS to review SME lending practices
THE Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed former deputy governor of the Bank of England Sir Andrew Large to undertake an independent review of its lending practices to small and medium-sized businesses.
The bank said it wanted to identify steps that RBS and NatWest can take, “to enhance its support to SMEs and the economic recovery while maintaining safe and sound lending practices”.
The review, which will involve management consultant Oliver Wyman, will also seek to promote a, “common understanding of the way in which the bank makes its judgements and decisions on lending”. Findings and recommendations will be published this autumn.
RBS’ chief executive of corporate lending Chris Sullivan said: “We are the biggest lender to SMEs in the country, and have identified £20bn in surplus deposits that we want to put to work to support the economy – but we constantly hear that businesses can’t get the finance they need. We have to bridge this gap.
“With the economy now moving to recovery, it is the right time to have a fresh look at lending, to make sure we are making the right judgements, to challenge ourselves to get better and support even more businesses.
“Demand for lending remains a challenge, but we want to do more than just wait for demand to materialise. We want to play our part in securing the recovery. If there are loans that we could and should be making, but are not, then that will change. If there are things we can do better – we will.”
Sir Andrew Large said: “There is a disconnect between what the bank says it is doing on lending, and what many businesses say they experience on the ground. That is why we have been asked to conduct an independent review to establish what is going on, and what steps can be taken. Clearly, the business community needs to have confidence that deserving firms can get the support they need.”
