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.