Police launch investigation into RBS business unit

RBS said it would co-operate with any request for information as officers look into the treatment of customers by the now defunct GRG, which was set up to help companies in trouble but has since long been accused of forcing firms to the wall in order to strip them of their assets.

As well as former customers, the GRG has also been accused of mistreatment by MPs.

News of the police probe come as the BBC has reported that it has obtained a memo written by a GRG employee which appears to show staff were encouraged to extract money from struggling firms.

The memo, written in 2009 by a junior GRG manager who has now left the company, entitled “Just Hit Budget” talks of applying especially high interest rates, which could then be reduced if customers signed over a stake in their business or property.

One line says: “No deal, no way. Missed opportunities will mean missed bonuses.”

The bank said the language in the leaked memo was “wholly inappropriate”.

In a separate development, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has told the BBC it plans to publish a report into the allegations of the mistreatment of customers before the end of the month.

According to the reports, Scotland’s national police force was asked last year by crown prosecutors to examine GRG’s handling of clients.

Police Scotland’s economic crimes unit has been gathering evidence to see whether there might be enough to pursue a criminal investigation against the bank.

While no charges have been brought and no formal investigation has been launched, Police Scotland said the Crown Office would consider information that meets the standards required for criminal cases.

The government said it did not comment on leaked documents or ongoing investigations.

But Shadow business minister Bill Esterson said that as a result of GRG: “For years, thousands of people’s businesses were destroyed and ruined and their relationships broken up, and sadly people taken their own lives.”

He added it was “not before time” that police were looking into the RBS unit.

And Norman Lamb, vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, said: “This shows that within RBS there was a culture of no real interest in rescuing companies. There was an interest in maximising bonuses and improving the balance sheet.”