Warning taxpayer may never get back £66 billion tied up in banks

MORE than £66 billion of taxpayers’ cash invested in RBS and Lloyds may never be recovered, a spending watchdog warns today.

The public accounts committee included its observations in a report that is critical of the Treasury for making a series of costly mistakes in its handling of the Northern Rock rescue.

Officials were slow to react to the banking crisis, because they lacked the necessary skills and understanding, according to the committee.

That reaction resulted in losses on the Northern Rock rescue, which auditors earlier this year estimated would cost £2bn, 
difficult to avoid, MPs said.

Margaret Hodge, who chairs the committee, said the sale of the bank was handled well but still led to a loss for taxpayers of nearly half a billion pounds. There were just two bidders, sparking fears that the two remaining state-backed banks, RBS and Lloyds, will fail to be sold for a profit.

Mrs Hodge said: “The rescue of Northern Rock is expected to cost the taxpayer some £2bn. The Treasury was unable to respond promptly when the banking crisis hit because it lacked the right skills and understanding.

“It was slow to nationalise the bank and that made a loss difficult to avoid.

“The Treasury had spent five months trying to find a private sector buyer before giving up. After nationalisation, it then failed to effectively challenge the optimistic business plan put forward by the bank’s management to split the bank.”

The run on deposits at Northern Rock in September 2007 was one of the pivotal moments in the financial crash. After nationalisation, the bank was split into Northern Rock plc and Northern Rock (Asset Management), which held its bad debt.

The move was supposed to generate lending but it fell well short of its £15bn target, reaching just £9.1bn. Earlier this year the Treasury’s most senior official, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, admitted the taxpayer lost out because of five months of “drift” as the crisis unfolded. The 
Treasury has accepted its part in a “monumental collective failure”, according to the report.

It has now set up a dedicated team, UK Financial Investments (UKFI), to manage taxpayer shares in banks.

Mrs Hodge added: “UKFI took over management of the taxpayers’ shares in 2010, but it was also too slow to challenge the strategy of Northern Rock even though the bank was losing money.

“Once UKFI decided to sell the bank, the sale was handled well, but the taxpayer still lost nearly half a billion pounds. There were only two bidders and it was fortunate that Virgin Money was particularly keen to buy.

“The lack of competition does not fill us with confidence that the taxpayer will make a profit on the sale of the two banks which remain in public ownership, RBS and Lloyds.

“There is a risk that the £66bn invested in RBS and Lloyds may never be recovered.

“It is vital that the final decisions on the wholly owned banks are made with value to the taxpayer taking precedence over speed of exit.

“This will not be the last banking crisis. The Treasury must ensure it retains the right staff with the right skills to understand the risks and respond effectively.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “The decision to nationalise Northern Rock was taken in the interest of financial stability. The sale of Northern Rock plc to Virgin Money last year represented good value for money.”