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Tuesday, 24 June 2014

£22bn threat to banks in latest mis-selling ‘scandal’ that could rival PPI payouts

The Independent

The Government’s aim of returning the entire Lloyds Banking Group to private ownership before the general election could be blown off-course by another mis-selling scandal.

 
An investigation by The Independent of the potential liabilities of British banks incurred from the mis-selling of interest rate protection products, known as swaps, has revealed that payouts could match the PPI scandal, which has so far cost them £22bn. Lloyds’ exposure has been estimated for The Independent to be a potential £5bn – and other UK banks could be similarly hit.

Until now estimates of the scale of the scandal have been limited to interest-rate hedging products (IRHPs) sold mostly to small and medium-sized businesses. But claims from so-called “sophisticated” clients – those with swaps valued above £10m or who employ 50 people or more – could push the total far higher.

The Independent, in conjunction with derivative analysts in the City who cannot be identified for legal reasons, examined high-value claims excluded from the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent review of mis-selling.

One analyst said: “This is potentially a bigger problem for UK banks than PPI. Profits from PPI sales somewhat offset the £22bn the banks were forced to pay out in compensation. But profits on swap derivatives could be dwarfed by high settlement costs.”

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