This event has now taken place but you can watch the video recording of it through our Youtube Channel, get to it by clicking the button below

When

Thursday, April 1st from 6pm to 8pm UK time

Where

Online symposium via Zoom.

Format

There'll be a great line-up of speakers plus ample scope for discussion and debate.

Why you should attend

In 2012, after sustained lobbying of MPs and campaigning in the press by individual victims and support groups and stakeholders, the Financial Services Authority (pre FCA) revealed its preliminary investigation into this huge scandal had discovered there was hard evidence to strongly demonstrate that high street banks had not observed the applicable Rules when selling well over 30,000 Interest Rate Hedging Products (IRHPs) to over 30,000 small and medium-sized British businesses.

The FSA also revealed that a further 100,000+ UK SMEs might also be negatively affected by IRHPs as a result of banks selling them Tailored Business Loans (TBL).

At the time, conservative estimates were that redress and compensation would cost the banks well in excess of £10 Billion.

However, after notable lobbying by the banks and interventions by HM Treasury Ministers to introduce what many think of as wholly inappropriate ‘sophistication’ criteria and classifications, the subsequent FCA Review & Redress Scheme resulted in less than £3Bn in awards. Obviously, this has been a “highly controversial” matter ever since – there’s a rather large difference between £10 Billion and £3 Billion.

Essentially, the key issue is whether those that haven’t been properly compensated have been treated unfairly; and if so who’s to blame.

Our symposium on Thursday is all about shining the bright light of truth and evidence on that question. We intend to expose the truth about the Interest Rate Hedging Investment scandal, the underlying fraud of hidden / undisclosed margin credit facilities and other very serious issues including inappropriate “mark to market” accounting.

Perhaps the most potent questions we’ll be delving into are:

Is there hard evidence of balance sheet fraud?
Is there hard evidence of catastrophic regulatory failure?
Is there hard evidence of regulatory negligence?
Is there hard evidence of an attempted cover-up?

Commentary will also be made on the expert evidence submitted to John Swift QC and what his pending investigation and report on the critically flawed FCA Scheme might reveal and mean for the FCA and indeed the Financial Ombudsman Service.

We’ll also be shining the bright light of truth and evidence on other issues impacting thousands of UK SMEs and businesses who have experienced matters such as:

Inexplicable problems or defaults on their credit files and rating
Extremely challenging issues with Insolvency Practitioners and Land and Property Act Receiver
The sale of Tailored Business Loans

We’ll even be seeking to get to grips with the harms caused by:

The shockingly scandalous workings of the RBS Global Restructuring Group “abattoir”
The arguably even more shockingly scandalous Lloyd’s Business Support Unit
The other misleadingly named business banking ‘support / special measures / restructuring / recovery’ units.