* The Minister of Finance of the UK, shocked by the information which has surfaced
The continuous deterioration of the loan portfolios have caused several banks to set up special divisions in charge of restructuring problematic loans, a tendency which is making itself felt in Romania as well. However, two reports that concern RBS at the level of the UK are raising questions over the ethics of the activity of that division.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is accused of having put viable companies in difficult situations, so it can buy up their assets at paltry prices, according to reports quoted by Financial Times (FT) and Bloomberg.
Lawrence Tomlinson, advisor to the state secretary of the British government for the business sector, Vince Cable, says that the lender is guilty of "systematically abusing" corporate clients, from the moment of its rescue by the government, in 2008, the two publications also show.
The criticism of the advisor has focused on the restructuring division of RBS, Global Restructuring Group (GRG), which the distressed companies were "pushed" towards, the quoted sources say. Once transferred there, they were charged high fees, and some of the bank's devalued assets were taken over by the real estate division of the bank, the report of Lawrence Tomlinson states. The document also notes that the profits obtained from the lending activity were "very small, compared to the profit targets which bankers are incentivized to reach", according to Bloomberg.
"There are many devastating stories about the way in which RBS has destroyed good businesses and the impact that this had on the lives of business owners", says Lawrence Tomlinson, in a statement sent to the publication. The report is asking the authorities to conduct additional investigations.
Vince Cable, who described the accusations made in the report as "ve
