RBS fined for competition breach

Mar 30 2010

Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £28.6 million for breaking competition law after revealing details of its loan prices to rival Barclays.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said RBS told Barclays the cost of its loans to large professional firms such as solicitors and accountants through a series of contacts between October 2007 and February or March 2008.

Ali Nikpay, the OFT's senior director of cartels and criminal enforcement, said: "Any company that discloses confidential future pricing information to its competitors risks a substantial penalty."