Measured response to ABFA claims!

Jeff makes some interesting points in his reply; I would say that we should never challenge the right of free independent journalism that is ‘regulated’ unlike the factoring industry. He is right that asset based lending is worryingly not covered by any financial regulation or the PRA and is instead covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 which also covers pawn shops. I do not believe when the Act was written that was designed to cover sophisticated financial products which even ABFA seem to be unable to work out the cost of borrowing from their members.

 He has failed to mention that appalling abuses of his members clients on an industrial scale that has been exposed in the Telegraph, Times, FT and the Treasury Select committee to name a few. The Telegraph led with an example of broker(s) been given substantial incentives to find struggling SMEs to put into insolvency to profiteer on their assets at the expense of HMRC and other unsecured creditors.

 He challenges RABF to give him example(s) of 90+% APR from his members – that can be easily be done. To work out how much factoring will cost is simple; There is a monthly admin fee based upon the maximum facility a company will require, an interest charge of x% above base rate and where necessary a mandatory invoice insurance. You put those into the Growth Street APR calculator and job done. Cleary the asset based finance industry like to keep this as a black art to hide the obscene profits.
Brian Moore
Campaign for Regulation of the Asset Based Finance Industry
www.rabf.org.uk

http://www.altfi.com/article/1613_sme_finance_space_short_on_transparency

Reply from Jeff Longhurst Chief Executive Officer Asset Based Finance Association

Hi Brian,

Thank you for your email.

I hope that you are keeping well. 

There would be a technical difficulty with your proposal inasmuch as asset based finance will generally be provided on the basis of debt purchase.  In that sense, it is not lending and interest is not charged. So strictly speaking it would be misleading and potentially illegal to use interest rates or APRs.

However I appreciate the underlying point that you are making which is transparency about the overall costs of finance to businesses and that is something the ABFA fully supports. 

An asset based finance facility will often be a bespoke service tailored to the specific requirements and circumstances of the client.  The two primary costs to a client of an ABF facility will be a service charge and a discount charge; with the latter being payable only on the funding drawn down.  These charges will be easily comparable between providers. 

There are likely to be other contractual charges that will be specified in the contract to reflect any additional services that a client requests or to cover other events outside the normal running of the facility.  Again, these will be easily comparable between providers.  The market is extremely competitive and I would always recommend that potential clients shop around to ensure they get the most appropriate facility for them, although the most appropriate facility might not always be the cheapest. 

Comparison between a single rate or metric like an APR can work for a standard off the shelf product like a credit card or a personal loan.  But for a service-oriented facility intended for businesses rather than consumers, there is a risk that one ends up comparing apples with pears. 

A prospective facility needs to be considered qualitatively, not just quantitatively. For instance, there are some client businesses that use factoring for the service element (ledger management and collections) and don’t even draw down funding. What is key is that SMEs understand the options available to them, what the benefits and costs are and are able to make an informed choice.  Transparency about the overall costs of finance is key to that and is something that the ABFA fully supports and encourages amongst its Members.

I note that you have copied in Lucy Armstrong, the chair of the Professional Standards Council, which, as you know, is independently responsible for maintaining and enforcing the Standards Framework which all our Members work under.  How to ensure transparency in fees and charges is something that the PSC considers on an ongoing basis - if you do have any specific examples or evidence of what you believe is poor practice I would encourage you to bring them to Lucy’s attention.

In the meantime, best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. 

Regards

Jeff Longhurst

Chief Executive Officer

Asset Based Finance Association

Borrowers open to exploitation over fees

 Providers of asset-based finance to small and medium-sized enterprises should declare an APR showing the true annual cost of the debt, just as lenders to consumers must do, campaigners say. The Campaign for Regulation of Asset Based Finance describes SME finance as “the next financial scandal in the making,” pointing out that large chunks of the sector are exempt from the sort of protections normally offered to consumer borrowers.

Asset-based finance, in which SMEs take on debt against assets ranging from plant and machinery to unpaid invoices, is at an all-time high, says the Asset Based Finance Association. But while new sources of SME funding have been welcomed, some fear businesses are vulnerable to exploitation. “Some lenders hide the true cost of this credit by advertising products using prices that either fail to include fees, or use rates for periods shorter than one year,” warned  James Sherwin-Smith, chief executive of Growth Street, who is backing  the campaign. “The lack of price clarity means firms are paying more than they should.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sme/many-firms-are-on-a-collision-course-with-the-pensions-regulator-over-auto-enrolment-a6780791.html

Fury as small firms pay over 90% in hidden loan costs: Pressure groups call for law forcing banks to publish rates when lending to businesses

 By Vicki Owen For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 21:57, 19 December 2015 | Updated: 21:56, 19 December 2015

Small companies taking out loans are being charged interest rates as high as 90 per cent, say campaigners who are demanding a change in legislation to force lenders to come clean over costs.

Pressure groups hope their calls will be considered as part of a review of lending to small companies launched this weekend by Parliament’s Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills.

Banks and other lenders are already required by law to publish the annual percentage rate they charge for loans, credit cards and mortgages, but they are not bound by the same rules when making loans to businesses.

Crucially such APRs take into account the cost of extra charges, which add significantly to costs.

The Campaign for Regulation of Asset Based Finance has written to representatives of the leading banks to call for a published interest rate to be mandatory.

Brian Moore, a spokesman for the campaign, said: ‘This single move would bring much needed clarity to the true price of asset-based finance and help clients compare the costs.’

He added: ‘Support is building and it has been breathtaking the number of businesses who have seen our blog and then rung us up saying they went for what looked like 2.5 per cent plus an admin fee that turned out to be an APR of more than 90 per cent.’

Moore said the lack of an official APR calculation meant examples of loan rates given by lenders could be misleading because various fees, compulsory insurance and other charges could boost the total cost to something far higher than expected.

Campaigners have lobbied the Asset Based Finance Association – which counts all of the leading banks among its members – as it claims such lenders are the worst offenders.

James Sherwin-Smith of business lending comparison website Growthstreet is wholeheartedly supporting the demands for the clear pricing of the cost of loans to small businesses.

 He said: ‘I hope the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills will back our campaign for an APR for all SME finance products.’

Bank lending to smaller firms has been the subject of controversy since the credit crunch.

Select Committee chairman Iain Wright MP said: ‘After real difficulties during the credit crunch, business access to finance appears – superficially at least – to be back to normal. 

'But small businesses in particular still say that access to finance is one of their biggest obstacles to future growth.

‘As a committee we want to look at how access to finance has changed since the end of the financial crisis.’

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3367166/Fury-small-firms-pay-90-hidden-loan-costs-Pressure-groups-call-law-forcing-banks-publish-rates-lending-businesses.html#ixzz3uqpQbHMP

Access to finance inquiry launched - SMEs are demanding that factoring companies use APR!

18 December 2015

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has launched an inquiry on access to finance, looking at how the landscape for access to finance has developed since the end of the financial crisis and the improvements on finance which Government could make to boost the number of successful and high-growth businesses.

• Inquiry: Access to finance
• Business, Innovation and Skills Committee

Chair's comments

Iain Wright MP, Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee said:

"After real difficulties during the credit crunch, business access to finance appears, superficially at least, to be back to normal. But small businesses, in particular, still say that access to finance is one of their biggest obstacles to future growth. As a Committee, we want to look at how access to finance has changed since the end of the financial crisis. Among other issues, we will want to examine some of the alternative ways of raising finance, such as crowd-funding and peer-to-peer, and whether they are sufficiently well-regulated and monitored for companies to be confident in utilising them."

Scope of the inquiry

The Committee is seeking evidence on the following points:

• How has the landscape for access to finance evolved since the end of the financial crisis?
• What have been the most successful Government policies to assist growing companies access private finance and where is there room for improvement?
• Does the UK have globally competitive markets / suppliers for financing (and debt financing) at 1) seed 2) venture and 3) growth stages? What steps could Government take to strengthen these systems?
• Are alternative methods of raising finance (such as crowd-funding and peer-to-peer) sufficiently well-regulated and monitored for companies to be confident in utilising them?
• What are the main improvements or interventions, in terms of finance, that the Government should make to achieve the objective of increasing the number of successful and high-growth businesses in the private sector?

SME Finance Space Short on Transparency

By Ryan Weeks on 18th December 2015

Is there a scandal bubbling up within the small business lending space?

CEO of recently launched Growth Street James Sherwin-Smith certainly thinks so. And he’s not alone. Brian Moore, a spokesperson for The Campaign for Regulation of Asset Based Finance (RABF), has penned a forceful letter to Jeff Longhurst, CEO of The Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA). The letter calls for all members to publish a representative Annual Percentage Rate (APR) alongside financial products. The ABFA’s membership is comprised of a few dozen banks and traditional invoice finance providers. 

Mr. Moore’s letter reminds Mr. Longhurst that commitments number 2 and 3 in the ABFA code of conduct stipulate that member companies must act with integrity – dealing fairly and responsibly with clients and guarantors – and that members must provide clients and guarantors with “all the appropriate information” in a timely and transparent manner. But when it comes to publishing a representative APR, Moore asserts that the ABFA’s operating principles fall short of the mark:

“Clauses 3.1.1 through 3.1.8 within the Guidance then go on to state ways in which ABFA members should provide clients with information on fees and charges, however the Guidance falls short of being prescriptive in this area.”

Moore goes on to describe the asset based finance industry as suffering from a crippling lack of transparency – one in which the true cost of funds is obfuscated by complex tariff structures and hidden fees. Such comments are supported by the findings of a MarketInvoice study, published in May of this year, which revealed that the UK’s banking sector has been fleecing businesses for £758m each year on invoice financing – an overcharge of £425m.

How will Mr. Longhurst and the ABFA react to the call for greater transparency? To clarify, the RABF is lobbying the ABFA to require that all financial promotions and product documentation carry a representative APR. This feels like a somewhat difficult principle to oppose, as any counter-argument would by necessity hinge on defending the notion that business owners are better left in the dark when it comes to cost of capital.

Growth Street provides flexible overdrafts of up to £150k for small businesses, and is highly transparent around costs. Borrower rates vary case-to-case, but are typically 8-15% per annum. Growth Street recently launched an APR calculation tool, in order to assist SMEs in comparing the price of various forms conventional and alternative finance. CEO James Sherwin-Smith offered his take on the state of transparency within the small business lending space:

“SME finance is the next UK financial scandal in the making. Business lending is currently exempt from APR regulation, which enables some lenders to hide the true cost of this credit by advertising products using prices that either fail to include fees, or use rates for periods shorter than one year. Factoring providers typically quote charges as a low percentage over base rate; however, the fees found in the small print usually constitute the majority of the cost. The lack of price clarity available to SMEs means small firms are paying more than they should for commercial finance. Something needs to be done, and we will be campaigning for APR for SMEs, to form part of the wider government agenda to improve price transparency.”

 http://www.altfi.com/article/1613_sme_finance_space_short_on_transparency

Making APR mandatory within the ABFA Code of Conduct Letter to ABFA

TO: Jeff Longhurst, Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), 15 December 2015

Subject: Making APR mandatory within the ABFA Code of Conduct

 

Dear Jeff,

As CEO of ABFA, you will know that the ABFA Code for Members clearly states that:

·         ABFA members shall act integrity and deal fairly and responsibly with clients and guarantors (Commitment 2)

·         ABFA members shall provide clients and guarantors with all the appropriate information in a timely and transparent manner (Commitment 3)

Further, the ABFA Guidance that accompanies the Code states that “ABFA members shall ensure their marketing activities, whether through advertising, sales literature of verbal assertions shall be honest, fair and clearly understandable.” (1.2.3).

Clauses 3.1.1 through 3.1.8 within the Guidance then go on to state ways in which ABFA members should provide clients with information on fees and charges, however the Guidance falls short of being prescriptive in this area.

The level of detail the Guidance goes into to try and hold members to Commitment 2 & 3, while not mandating adherence by being prescriptive, should perhaps come as no surprise. The asset based finance industry is rife with a lack of transparency when it comes to the true cost of finance, obfuscating the real price through complex tariff structures and significant fees that are buried deep in the terms and conditions of often lengthy contract documentation.  This is also consistent with recent findings of the FCA review of, and the CMA investigation into, the supply of SME banking services, which found that “prices are opaque and lending products are complex”.

One route that could help clean up the industry, and potentially avoid further regulatory scrutiny, would be for ABFA to hold true to their Commitments and the ethos of the Guidance by mandating that any financial promotion or product documentation carries a representative Annual Percentage Rate (APR). 

This single move would help bring much needed clarity to the true price of asset based finance, and help clients compare the cost of finance between propositions and providers.

Some alternative finance providers (such as business overdraft platform Growth Street http://www.growthstreet.co.uk) offer transparent and fairly priced working capital solutions, including tools to estimate both the APR and the total cost of credit (TCC) that businesses pay. If alternative providers can do this, why can’t ABFA?

Jeff, if ABFA and its Members want to honour their commitment to being fair, responsible and transparent, and truly have nothing to hide, it would be a huge step forward for the industry to make the disclosure of APR a mandatory requirement.  I welcome your response.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Moore,

Spokesman Campaign for Regulation of Asset Based Finance

Steve Box the Enigma at Bibby Financial Services

Cut Steve Box until recently and his blood would have oozed HSBC corporate colour - the man was what was good at HSBC.

Both Steve and the former CEO Simon Featherstone were what as good in factoring industry surrounded by an ocean of sharks or worse.

 
Steve Box, Head of European Operations, Bibby Financial Service

European operations

European operations

European operations

He has joined a business that until Simon was based upon crooked deals - Simon's sudden departure makes industry watches such as this blog shudder.

So is Steve Box now an isolated figure of good?  only time will tell

Mark Storey Bibby Financial Services Yorkshire - looking for information

          Mark Storey Managing Director, Yorkshire & North East at Bibby Financial Services

Leading 2 Bibby Invoice Finance Operating Companies (Yorkshire and NorthEast). Have c 60 staff across both sites. Responsibility also includes leading our growing Forward Finance offering to smaller businesses for the whole of the UK

We are looking for information on Mark Storey and the Bibby Yorkshire office

Please give information in confidence to Bibby.Yorkshire@rabf.org.uk

Clean pants and toilet paper sell out near the offices of a number of factoring companies

It appears the incident is as a result of the 14 year sentence for Tom Hayes, the trader convicted of manipulating the Libor rates.

“I had no idea he’d actually go to prison,” a factoring 'professional'was over heard saying

Ex-UBS employee, who said he was motivated by greed, given sentence of 14 years - Sound familiar?

“I mean, he went to Eton. His father’s a GP. He’s just not the sort of chap who gets sent to prison.”

Five minutes after the sentence was announced there was a huge surge in water demand as office toilets simultaneously flushed.

Hecontinued, “You could hear everyone’s bowels turn to water as the implications became clear; if Tom can go to prison, any of us can.”

“I was one of the lucky ones, I made it to the gents, and there was still a bit of paper left, but I saw a few of my colleagues’ secretaries discreetly popping to M&S to get them new pants.”

It is understood that literally every human being working at a number of fatoring companies is currently under suspicion of some form of financial crime from fraudanlent termination fees to false disbursements.

We are looking for information on Regency Factors

Have you had dealings with Regency? Do you feel ripped off?

Contact Regency@rabf.org.uk

Today Trader guilty over Libor rate rigging - Tomorrow factoring employee - it will happen!

Former City trader Tom Hayes has been found guilty at a London court of rigging global Libor interest rates.

He is the first individual to face a jury trial for manipulating the rate, which is used as a benchmark for trillions of pounds of global borrowing and lending.

Many of the world's leading banks have paid heavy financial penalties for tampering with the key benchmark.


Hayes told a fellow trader: "Just give the cash desk a Mars bar and they'll set wherever you want."

The jury found Hayes guilty on all eight charges of conspiracy to defraud.   Each count carries a possible 10-year sentence.  The case was brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

Hayes, a star trader, rigged the Libor rates daily for nearly four years.
 
During the trial, the court heard that manipulating Libor rates was so commonplace that an offer of a Mars bar could get it changed.


ADMIN: Factoring company employees brag they are committing fraud against HMRC 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33763628

Private prosecutions are permitted in England and Wales to bring asset based lenders to justice!

In England and Wales, the victim of a crime and his family had the right to hire a private lawyer to prosecute criminal charges against the person alleged to have injured the victim.  

Former factoring clients are preparing to initiate private prosecution against current and former employee's of a number asset based lenders. The former clients all have the same starting point, they owed a significant amount to the factoring company. They all attended a meetings with the factoring company where they were informed by the factoring company that it was agreeable to cooperating with them regarding support. 

The former clients allege that the then employees of the factoring company had already decided to appoint an IP over their companies. An IP was appointed and the former clients are now initiating private prosecution for dishonesty offences. 

What is quite fascinating as these former clients do not want the factoring company to wriggle out by blaming a 'rogue' employee - Is deciding at what level to prosecute
 
Factoring companies committed fraud on an industrial scale and still are!


The Law of England & Wales

In the jurisdiction of England & Wales, private prosecutions are a growth area and in certain circumstances, companies and high net worth individuals are initiating proceedings in the criminal courts, and prosecuting individuals or companies who they believe have committed a criminal offence. The growth in factoring cases beign brought may be due to the fact that in the age of austerity, regulators have limited resources.

A private prosecution is considered to be a prosecution started by a company or an individual who is not acting on behalf of the police or another prosecuting authority.

For example, in 2011, Virgin Media succeeded in a private prosecution against three men who took part in a fraud which involved selling set-top boxes across the UK. Press articles speculated that the cost of the fraud to Virgin had been approximately GBP 144 million a year. The offenders were jailed.

Private prosecutions can have a wide applicability to offending that can arise in the conduct of business. For example, under the Fraud Act 2006 a person or a company can commit an offence of fraud if they make a false representation in order to gain an advantage.

Private prosecutions have several benefits:

• A compensation order can be requested at the sentencing stage.
• A private prosecution is easy to publicise.
• A private prosecution can be concluded faster than civil proceedings.
• A criminal conviction can be evidence in a civil case.

The right to bring a private prosecution is, however, subject to some controls:

• Some offences require the consent of the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions (“DPP”) or the Director of the Serious Fraud Office before initiating proceedings.
• The DPP has the power to take over a case, although CPS Guidance makes it clear that this will not occur unless there is a need for the CPS to do so. There is no obligation to notify the CPS of a private prosecution.

If the CPS does take a case over, it may seek to discontinue it unless the test under the Code for Crown Prosecutors is met (the “Code”). For a prosecution to continue under the Code, the CPS will examine whether:

• Prosecutors are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge.
• If the evidential test is satisfied, whether a prosecution is required in the public interest.

Not all law firms have expertise in this criminal sphere. EMM Legal are uniquely placed with experience in  criminal litigation. This allows them to conduct an initial investigation and then advise on whether a civil or criminal process may be a more appropriate method of enforcement. In deciding whether a private prosecution is appropriate, Emm Legal will refer to the Code.
 

Regulator capped mis-selling payouts - This is what we are up against - lobbying power

The Treasury lobbied financial regulators to limit compensation for business victims of mis-selling by banks, the BBC has learned.

Andy Varity - Journalist who investigates corrupt banks

Thousands of business owners bought interest rate hedging products without understanding them.
Independent experts say banks could have been on the hook for £30bn of compensation, but so far only £1.9bn has been paid out.

The Treasury said it does not interfere with the independence of the regulator.

Watch Andy Verity's Newsnight report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIdqraQfXMU&feature=youtu.be

Draining cash

Businesses from small to large were sold more than 30,000 interest rate hedging products between 2003 and 2012.

Like payment protection insurance, they were sold when customers applied for a loan. Unlike payment protection insurance, banks often forced businesses to take them as a condition of the loan.

Business owners - many of them small businesses - were typically told the hedging products were a form of insurance that would pay out if interest rates rose, enabling them to manage their repayments.

What many were not told, however, was that if interest rates dropped, it would be the business, not the bank, that paid out.

If they then wanted to end the contract, the break costs were prohibitively high.

Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33647312

First Capital - An asset based lender that goes the extra mile for it's clients

Over the last few years RABF has dealt with and helped a number of companies that are on the brink of been taken under by their existing 'corrupt' factoring provider.

David Marsden the CEO of First Captial and his staff have saved company after company - once the company becomes their client offers the level of support that most users of other asset based lenders can only dream off.

Contact First Capital at http://www.firstcapitalfactors.co.uk/index.html

Plan to cut £1bn tax-credit fraud not achievable - Re-introduce Crown preference £200M+ being fraudently taken by the banks & Asset based lenders in charges

A US company brought in to crack down on tax-credit fraud will fail to meet its £1bn target, the National Audit Office has said.

Synnex-Concentrix only generated savings of £500,000 in 2013-14 compared with the original estimate of £285m.

It is expected to deliver savings of £423m over three years, less than half the original target.



Admin: HMRC have already started the process of recovering past debts from fraudulent asset based lenders - There is a £1bn of easily recoverable money that should have gone to the Treasury by re-introducing Crown preference

Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33571596

When will the Treasury & the HMRC wise up to the 'non' Crown preference rip off?

In the event of a company going into insolvency the Crown who picks up annually £200M+ worth of costs should be able to claim that back as a secured creditor - the proceeds presently go to the banks as the secured creditor.
 
Gordon Brown as Chancellor was right to make all unsecured creditor equal with the removal of Crown preference - What he and the officials did not anticipate was the banks and asset based lenders would make themselves the secured creditors and take the money that should have gone to SMEs and the tax payer!

The banks are pocketing £200+ of money that should have gone to the taxpayer through fraudalent charges!

Simon Featherstone 'a force for positive change' leaves Bibby Financial Services

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) today announces that Simon Featherstone is to step-down as global chief executive.

Who ever replaces Simon needs to be of his stature and integrity.

After four years at BFS, Simon has decided to pursue other career opportunities and will leave the business on 5th August 2015.

David Postings, BFS UK chief executive, will take-over as Global CEO on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made. During this time, David will continue in his role as UK CEO.

Simon Featherstone, said: “With the installation of a new operating system nearing completion; refinancing of the UK business in its final stages, growing global sales and a strong management team in place, I feel that now is a great time to move on to my next challenge.

ADMIN: Simon has been a force for positive change at Bibby - If he had arrived 5 years earlier then so many more businesses would still be trading - The core problem of the Bibby family that allowed the previous management team to plunder struggling companies at the expense of HMRC is still there.

 - See more at: http://www.business-money.com/announcements/simon-featherstone-to-leave-bibby-financial-services#sthash.xlLTHKSg.dpuf

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) today announces that Simon Featherstone is to step-down as global chief executive.

After four years at BFS, Simon has decided to pursue other career opportunities and will leave the business on 5th August 2015.

David Postings, BFS UK chief executive, will take-over as Global CEO on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made. During this time, David will continue in his role as UK CEO.

Sir Michael Bibby, managing director of Bibby Line Group said: “Simon’s drive has enabled BFS to invest in new technology, new markets, and to consolidate its position at the forefront of asset based finance in the UK and many overseas territories.

“Simon has made a significant contribution to the Bibby Line Group and I should like to put on record my gratitude for his hard work and energy over the last 4 years.

“On behalf of the Bibby Line Group board, I would like to wish Simon all the best for the future.”

Simon Featherstone, said: “With the installation of a new operating system nearing completion; refinancing of the UK business in its final stages, growing global sales and a strong management team in place, I feel that now is a great time to move on to my next challenge.

- See more at: http://www.business-money.com/announcements/simon-featherstone-to-leave-bibby-financial-services#sthash.xlLTHKSg.dpuf

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) today announces that Simon Featherstone is to step-down as global chief executive.

After four years at BFS, Simon has decided to pursue other career opportunities and will leave the business on 5th August 2015.

David Postings, BFS UK chief executive, will take-over as Global CEO on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made. During this time, David will continue in his role as UK CEO.

Sir Michael Bibby, managing director of Bibby Line Group said: “Simon’s drive has enabled BFS to invest in new technology, new markets, and to consolidate its position at the forefront of asset based finance in the UK and many overseas territories.

“Simon has made a significant contribution to the Bibby Line Group and I should like to put on record my gratitude for his hard work and energy over the last 4 years.

“On behalf of the Bibby Line Group board, I would like to wish Simon all the best for the future.”

Simon Featherstone, said: “With the installation of a new operating system nearing completion; refinancing of the UK business in its final stages, growing global sales and a strong management team in place, I feel that now is a great time to move on to my next challenge.

- See more at: http://www.business-money.com/announcements/simon-featherstone-to-leave-bibby-financial-services#sthash.xlLTHKSg.dpuf

PwC and Lloyds face £55m High Court claim over collapse of Leeds business

THE liquidator of two failed Leeds businesses has launched a High Court claim for £55m against PwC and Lloyds for their role in the collapse of the £180m-turnover motor sales group.

Premier Motor Auctions, which was incorporated as Premier Motorauctions and Premier Motorauctions Leeds, appointed administrators in December 2008 and since then former owner Keith Elliott has been railing against the actions of the company's bank, Lloyds, and the firm of advisors who became its administrators, PwC.

A claim has now been filed with the High Court by the companies' liquidator, Harris Lipman, alleging deliberate misrepresentation, breaches of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.

It was so obvious that Keith Elliott had been done by Lloyds - Let us hope this leads to criminal action being taken against named individuals at Lloyds

The 55-page document sets out a series of claims centred around the allegation that the advisor from PwC, Irving Warnett, conspired with colleagues and with Lloyds Bank to unnecessarily take a healthy company facing a short-term cashflow problem into administration.

PwC received fees of £450,000 from the subsequent administration, while Lloyds took a 50% stake in the business which took over the running of the Premier Motor Auctions business. 

The claim says: "In consequence of the misrepresentations, breaches of duty, conspiracy and/or joint or several intention to cause loss by unlawful means, the claimants have suffered loss by way of the destruction of the enterprise value of the companies and other losses."

The enterprise value has been assessed as up to £46.1m, while other losses are claimed to take the value of the claim up to £55m.

A spokesperson for PwC said: "PwC takes its professional and statutory responsibilities very seriously and acted properly in dealing with this matter. Independent third parties, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Insolvency Service and West Yorkshire Police, have examined Mr Elliot’s claims and found his complaints to be without foundation.  Proceedings have been issued by the liquidator of Premier Motor Auctions which PwC will defend vigorously as they are totally misconceived."

Lloyds did not respond to requests for a comment but has previously said it considers the claims "to be entirely without merit".

PwC has instructed DLA Piper's Leeds-based partners Colin Ashford and Hugh Evans, and Lloyds Bank has appointed CMS Cameron McKenna, to defend the claim.

 

Courtesy of : http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/724078-pwc-and-lloyds-face-55m-high-court-claim-over-collapse-of-leeds-business.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Yorkshire_22nd_Jul_2015_-_Daily_E-mail#

We now have access to a independent production company

We have opened dialogue with an independent production company to potentially start filming a documentary on the excesses of the asset based finance industry in the autumn.
 
Use the documentary to help get justice

As RBS and a number of factoring companies have shown in the past they have god pockets when it comes to using lawyers to hide the truth.

Please email RABF if you wish your case to be higlighted - contact us directly at tv@rabf.org.uk

Removal of Crown preference - Open season for banks to close solvent companies

The Government with the removal of Crown preference correctly reacted to a number of reports over several decades that identified that unsecured creditors were losing out to HMRC.


What the Government did not see coming was the banks would make themselves the secured creditor at the expense of the taxpayer.

Conservatively that is around £200M revenue that should have gone to the tax payer and a further £200M in redundancy and social costs when solvent companies are forced into insolvency by the greed of banks and factoring companies.

The Government needs to tr-introduce Crown preference - The taxpayer cannot continue allowing banks and factoringcompanies to continue profiteering at their expense

Crown Preference - ORIGINS AND JUSTIFICATIONS

The government's favored treatment for its revenue claims is of ancient origin. In England, the Crown prerogative dates from feudal times. It entitled the monarch to an absolute priority for revenue-related debts upon the insolvency of an English subject.

As English common law was exported to other parts of the world, the idea that the government was entitled to priority for its revenue claims found expression even in the absence of a monarch. Thus, in 1789, at a time when the revenues of the United States derived primarily from customs duties and whiskey taxes, one of Congress's first legislative acts was to grant the new federal government the right to be paid first when a person indebted to the United States became insolvent.
 
 The removal of the Crown preference was never meant for banks to profiteer for forcing solvent companies to close for their assets

Traditionally, there have been several justifications for the priority for tax claims. First, unlike the claims of private commercial creditors, tax claims are for the benefit of the entire community. The priority protects the revenue base for the common good, and avoids shifting the burden of the debtor's unpaid taxes to other taxpayers.

IT IS MADDNESS TO GIVE THE MONIES OWED TO THE TAXPAYER TO THE BANKS!!!

The only way to bring the factoring industry to heel is by bringing back Crown Preference

Why would the Chancellor not allow the Treasury through Crown preference to collect money when a company is in insolvency ahead of the banks - The Crown is left with the debt and the social costs the banks are left with a limitless bounty?
 
SMEs are calling on the Chancellor to re-introduce Crown preference to protect them from currupt factoring companies

Crown preference, the procedure that used to allow the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise to receive money from a company ahead of other creditors.

The chancellor if in the next budget re-introduced Crown Preference, HMRC could give the government about £750m a year in extra revenue.

There is no commercial sense in the banks to have preferential status over the Crown. And if they didn't have preferential status they may work more efficiently as other creditors do to support SME's.

Libor trader tells court managers knew what he was doing - It will be the same in the factoring industry

A trader accused of manipulating the Libor rate has told a court that senior managers knew what he was doing. 

Tom Hayes denied that what he was doing was "clandestine" 

Tom Hayes is the first trader to be tried by a jury for his part in the manipulation of the key interest rate.
"I acted with complete transparency... My managers knew, my manager's manager knew. In some cases the CEO [chief executive] was aware of it," he said.

The former UBS and Citigroup trader denies eight counts of conspiracy to defraud over the period 2006-2010.

Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33426974

Police investigating RBS for ‘loan abuse’ - The only way to get justice from asset based lenders is via the Police or private prosecutions!

James Hurley Enterprise Editor

Published at 12:01AM, July 6 2015

Police are investigating allegations from a small business owner that a Royal Bank of Scotland employee dishonestly transferred the lender’s liability on his company to the taxpayer.

Detectives from the financial crime unit at North Wales police visited RBS’s headquarters in London last week to look into claims from Clive May, who has accused the bank of abusing a government-backed loan scheme designed to boost lending to small companies.

 
RBS stand accussed 

The case relates to the enterprise finance guarantee, in which the government acts as guarantor on 75 per cent of the liability on individual bank loans.

The scheme is designed to help viable companies to access finance when they do not have enough security to satisfy a high street lender’s collateral demands. It has helped to facilitate £2.5 billion of bank credit to almost 24,000 small businesses since it was launched in 2009.

RBS is its biggest user. One of the bank’s relationship managers told Mr May, who is based in Mold, north Wales, to remove valid security — a second home — from the application form for one of the taxpayer-backed loans in December 2010. The property should have disqualified C May Brickwork, Mr May’s company, from securing a guarantee. However, a second form that did not refer to the property was submitted to the business department by RBS-owned NatWest, allowing the government-backed loan to be drawn. C May Brickwork subsequently failed when RBS withdrew its overdraft.

The reasons for the removal of the security are disputed. RBS has offered varying explanations, including a suggestion that it thought that the property was owned by Mr May’s wife. However, Mr May claims that bank correspondence he has obtained shows that the lender had recorded the true status of the security in its internal records before the EFG application was made.

An RBS profile of Mr May’s “means” says he owns two houses. After his complaints, RBS released him from his liability on the EFG loan. The bank apologised in January after admitting serious failings in how it explained some EFG loans, with certain customers incorrectly told the taxpayer guarantee was for their benefit. In fact, it was solely to cover three quarters of lenders’ liability on individual loans.

An internal review into the mis-selling is being overseen by Andrew Lewis, the bank’s head of capital and transaction management. It is understood that RBS has run its own inquiry into Mr May’s allegations and is cooperating with the police investigation. North Wales Police and RBS declined to comment.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article4488601.ece

Pass on the family firm? Not likely as almost a third of small firm owners are thinking of selling - Those are the ones that are using factoring companies that are being bleed them dry

Britain could be facing a wave of small company sell-offs over the next five years because of a backlog of business owners who postponed selling their firms in the downturn.

A number companies that use factoring have been forcably closed by their asset based lender!

Almost a third of small firm owners are thinking of selling within the next five years, according to research by accountancy firm Moore Stephens.

Debbie Clarke, head of mergers and acquisitions, said of the findings: ‘This would suggest a huge transition in ownership of owner-managed businesses.’

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/smallbusiness/article-3149556/Pass-family-firm-Not-likely-small-firm-owners-thinking-selling.html#ixzz3fBNjdRJR

If Pulse Cashflow had lent money to the Greeks - they would watch children starve to get their fee paid - let alone the loan amount!

Nothing will surprise RABF over the behaviour of Pulse Cashflow their actions are beyond what even an unreasonable lender would do!



Think long and hard if you are considering borrow off them.

Three charts that show Iceland's economy recovered after it imprisoned bankers and let banks go bust - instead of bailing them out

"It is dangerous that someone is too big to investigate - it gives a sense there is a safe haven."

Iceland’s finance minister has announced a 39 per cent tax on investors looking to take their money overseas.

The country has imposed the tax to prevent it hemorrhaging money as it loosens bank laws imposed six years ago, when Iceland made the shocking decision to let its banks go bust.

Iceland also allowed bankers to be prosecuted as criminals – in contrast to the US and Europe, where banks were fined, but chief executives escaped punishment.

The chief executive, chairman, Luxembourg ceo and second largest shareholder of Kaupthing, an Icelandic bank that collapsed, were sentenced in February to between four and five years in prison for market manipulation.

ADMIN: IT IS THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO COMMITTED FRAUD THAT NEED TO BE JAILED 

Continue reading: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/three-charts-that-show-icelands-economy-recovered-after-it-imprisoned-bankers-and-let-banks-go-bust--instead-of-bailing-them-out-10309503.html

 

Bank of England governor Mark Carney will call for longer prison sentences for bankers who break the law.

 
 Under Carney's proposals they would avoid 10 years in prison instead of avoiding 7 years in prison.

Dictionaries updated as HSBC redefines ‘challenging year’ as only making £12bn profit

HSBC has described a year in which they made over £12bn profit as ‘challenging’, forcing hurried rewrites for dictionary providers everywhere.

 

The banking giant said that making over £33m in profit every single day meant the last year had proven to be ‘unsatisfactory’ for all at the bank.

However banking customer Simon Williams said he had a slightly different interpretation of the word ‘challenging’.

ADVERTISEMENT

He told us, “Personally, I think the year in which I lost my job, and my granddad died, was particularly challenging.”

“But I can also see how awful a bank might feel after making only quarter of a billion pounds profit a week, every week, for an entire year.”

http://newsthump.com/2015/02/23/dictionaries-updated-as-hsbc-redefines-challenging-year-as-only-making-12bn-profit/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

Advantis debt Collection - Have you come in contact with this company?

Have you had dealings with Atlantis? As an organisation they have truly popped above our radar - There is an angle here with debt recovery that the High Street banks are using organisations like this to collect in serious money with obscene charges

Please contact Advantis@rabf.org.uk with your cases - all information is in confidence.

Welcome to Advantis

Advantis is one of the fastest growing debt collection agencies in the UK with a reputation that is founded on the consistent delivery of exceptional service, quality and performance.

As a member of the Credit Services Association, Advantis adheres to its strict Code of Practice, providing the reassurance our clients need that their customers are dealt with professionally and appropriately.

Based in Stoke on Trent, Advantis collect both consumer and commercial debt for a variety of high profile UK brands. We also have a highly successful trace and collect and litigation services operation.

http://www.advantiscredit.com/Default.aspx

The Asset Based Finance Industries view on a decade of fraudalent behaviour

ABFA Annual Conference 2015 - Birmingham Symphony Hall and Birmingham Botanical Gardens - 2-3 June

We have demonstrated outside Parliament and BIS - To date we have not highlighted our clear message at an industry event - This would be too good an opportunity to miss.



So shall we have a demonstration?

Please email ABFADemo@rabf.org..uk with your thoughts

Re-introduction of Crown Preference to spike Asset Based Lenders and put an extra £200M into the Treasury

The campaign as soon as the new Government is formed will be highlighting the loss of income to the Treasury of £200m annual loss which goes straight to bankers at the expense of the tax payer.
 

In case after case banks and asset based lenders are closing solvent companies so that they can gorge on the funds that should have gone to the tax payer - The sums of money that HMRC are losing in insolvency after insolvency are significant.

Why Accountants, lawyers and Brokers recommend Pulse - Not to help you but for mouth watering commission!

Introducers

Make more from your introductions

Pulse offers you as business introducers a unique opportunity to expand your service offering.
Our invoice finance products provide one of the fastest turnarounds in the market. There are no credit committees to arrange and no audits required, just a simple lending decision based on the quality of the sales ledger, not the clients historical performance. You will receive an instant ‘subject to’ decision and kept informed not only through the application process, but during the time that a client relationship is maintained with Pulse. Finance can be quickly approved for factor manage-aways and turnaround situations or where other lenders have rejected.

To expand your service offering and find out more about our lifetime commission scheme

ADMIN: WE ARE STILL CONTINUING TO GET HARROWING CASES INVOLVING PULSE!

What Jesus would have done to the crooked asset based lenders, insolvency practitioners and lawyers - the axis of evil of factoring

The campaign to stop the continued abuse of SMEs and the taxpayer was taken to the heart of Government by campaigners

Martin Donnelly the Permanent Secretary at BIS is now fully aware of the abuse within the asset based finance industry of solvent SMEs forced into insolvency by criminal factoring companies to profiteer at the expense of the taxpayer - Part of the 'alternative funders initiative'

SME owners to demonstrate at BIS over decision to encourage use of unregulated asset based lenders

 

Small business owners from all over the UK will be converging at the offices of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to highlight the unregulated structure of the asset based lending industry (factoring/invoice discounting), one of the key finance sectors of the Government’s ‘Alternative Funders Initiative’.

BIS is promoting the ‘Alternative Funders Initiative’ to SMEs that have been turned down for a conventional loan or overdraft by the banks. The main beneficiary of this is the unregulated asset based finance industry, which incorporates factoring and invoice discounting, where the company borrows typically against 70% of the value of an invoice.

Campaigners are going to demand to speak to the Permanent Secretary, Martin Donnelly, to point out that all of the examples given to the Minister in the Tomlinson Report were SMEs that were financed by the banking sector, such as RBS GRG and therefore already protected by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The factoring/invoice discounting finance sector is only covered by the Sales of Goods Act  – the same legislation as pawnbrokers.

The asset based finance sector funds around £300bn worth of invoices annually for businesses, in turn employing approximately one million people. The industry has been rocked by a series of scandals over the forced insolvency of solvent companies, with finance companies then profiting from the sale of the assets of the company.

A factoring company can easily make up to £500,000 through a secured creditor at the expense of HRMC, normally the largest unsecured creditor due to the removal of the Crown Preference.  The industry’s trade body launched its own Ombudsman Service with a maximum fine of £25,000 for the factoring company.

Campaigners will be highlighting the advice from Andrew Bailey, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England that will put 70% of lending under the control of the Prudential Regulation Authority without any additional costs or regulatory requirements through the simple amendment of existing legislation.

Brian Moore, Spokesman for the campaign group, Regulation Asset Based Finance (RABF), says it is madness that an SME can be protected by the PRA for a loan or an overdraft borrowed from a bank: “To then act on advice from the Government for an alternative funder, borrow from the same bank (or any other asset based lender) via a factoring agreement and only be covered by the Sale of Goods Act.”

Brian adds that the factoring industry has for years been a fraudsters dream: “Any fraudster can set themselves up in the industry and persuade the SME to sign a contract without lending a penny and in some cases put them into insolvency at the expense of the HMRC.

“We have seen company after company closed for their assets both by the banking and non-banking sector. We are calling on Martin Donnelly to brief the incoming Secretary of State on the lack of regulation in the factoring industry, and the need to implement the suggestions from Andrew Bailey to bring 70% of the lending under the umbrella of the PRA.

“We will be demanding that the unregulated asset based finance industry is removed by BIS as a recommended alternative lender until the subsidiaries of the banks are covered by the amended legislation as recommended by the PRA,” Brian concludes.

Come on along and support the Demonstration to highlight rampant fraud in the factoring industry of SMEs & the HMRC -

 BIS are going to promoting unregulated factoring and invoice discounting as a safe alternative to regulated banks with their Alternative Lenders intiative - They would be better to promote the 'regulated' pay day lending industry as a safe (and cheaper) alternative.

the lobby will take place at 1:30pm on Tuesday 31st March
Address: (just up from Parliament)

Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS)

1 Victoria Street,

London

SW1H 0ET

Contact Brian Moore - Spokesperson Campaign for the Regulation of Asset Based Finance 07825050704

Factoring companies to be highlighted to the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills as an alternative lenders that are closing solvent businesses as part of the unregulated asset based finance industry

Campaigners will be out in force demonstrationing at BIS tomorrow - come on along and show you support.



In what is expected to be a high profile vocal demonstration officials at the Department will be left under no illusion the problems faced by solvent clients of of the factoring/ invoice finance industry when they are forced into insolvency for their assets - which the asset based lender keep at the expense of HMRC!

For more information contact: BIS@rabf.org.uk

the lobby will take place at 1:30pm on Tuesday 31st March

Address:

Department of Business, Innovation & Skills

1 Victoria Street,

London

SW1H 0ET

Pressure is building on Department of Business, Innovation & Skills to review the asset based finance industry to answer serious questions over their alternative funders intiative

As numbers grow for the RABF campaigners for the lobby of BIS - serious questions are being asked how a situation has raised where the Government will be encouraging SMEs to use unregulated finance companies that a conman could set up to defraud them.

 
The Government unregulated alternative finance intiative will lead to solvent companies being forced into insolvency for their assets by factoring companies

Campaigners will be demanding answers when they confront BIS officials to answer awkward questions why they are promoting alternative finance providers who have grown fat by closing solvent companies and siphoning off their assets that should have gone to HMRC

Contact BIS@rabf.org.uk

RABF campaigners will be demanding to speak to Martin Donnelly the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills

RABF Campaigners will be pouring into London from all over the UK on Tuesday March 31st to lobby  the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to get robust regulation of asset based finance.

Asset based lending (factoring & invoice discounting) come under the control (or lack of) BIS.  At present the industry is covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 - which to put it bluntly is charter for fraud.


Martin Donnelly

HMRC and unsecured creditors continue to be the main victims of the forced insolvency of solvent companies by factoring companies for their assets.

For more information contact: BIS@rabf.org.uk

the lobby will take place at 1:30pm on Tuesday 31st March

Address:

Department of Business, Innovation & Skills

1 Victoria Street,

London

SW1H 0ET

UK scheme to promote unregulated alternative lenders to be running by 2016

A government scheme requiring banks to refer small firms rejected for loans to alternative finance providers should be up and running by next year, the managing director of the British Business Bank said.

The scheme is part of government plans to encourage lending to small businesses and fill a hole left by Britain's biggest banks scaling back lending to bolster capital and meet tougher regulatory rules following the financial crisis of 2007-9.


"We will definitely want to have something in place by 2016. The banks need to implement it and we need to get the systems right. It's better that the system is implemented well than we rush it," Andrew Van Der Lehm, managing director of the British Business Bank, told Reuters.

Britain's finance ministry said last year that it would require 10 banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC to offer businesses whose loan applications they have rejected a referral to alternative finance providers.



ADMIN: HAVE THE GOVERNMENT NOT LEARNED THAT THE 'REGULATED' BANKING SECTOR WAS OPEN TO WIDE SPREAD ABUSE - THE UNREGULATED SME FINANCE SECTOR IS OPEN TO WIDESPREAD FRAUD

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/uk-banks-lending-idUKKBN0MK00720150324

We are expecting our voice to be heard at the lobby of BIS on March 31st

As anger continues over the treatment of solvent SMEs by their factoring provider - business owners are planning to have their voice heard at the lobby of BIS on March 31st.

We simply cannot continue with factoring company after factoring companies business plan based around termination fees ripping off unsecured creditors and HMRC by forcing their client into insolvency.

contact BIS@rabf.org.uk for more information

People are coming for all ove the UK to lobby BIS regulation of Asset Based Finance

Members of RABF and the Close Brothers campaign group are planning to to attend the lobby of Business Skills and Innovation on March 31st (1st day of the General Election).

If you would like to come please contact BIS@rabf.org.uk

We are planning to see Martin Donnelly is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills.

This is the department in control of regulation of factoring/ invoice finance