Financial Conduct Authority refuses to leak full report on RBS

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced it will not be publishing in full a leaked report accusing RBS's Global Restructuring Group of mistreating businesses, which the bank denies.

That followed demands for its release by Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan.

Britain's financial watchdog said publishing the report would risk revealing confidential information, and has promised instead to publish a summary of the report's findings, verified by external lawyers.

Ms Morgan was evidently unimpressed by the decision, stating that the case to publish the full report was "overwhelming".

RBS's Global Restructuring Group was established with the intent to turn around businesses facing financial distress.

However, it had emerged that struggling companies who were placed in its recovery group had only a slim chance of ever exiting, according to the leaked Financial Conduct Authority report.

Last week, a group of MPs together with the treasury committee called for full publication of the report.

Adding to those concerns, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking warned that the financial watchdog may have overlooked the full scale of the damage caused by the bank's restructuring unit.

Andrew Bailey, the man in charge of the Financial Conduct Authority, said the reports were "not intended for public view" as the individuals concerned had not had the opportunity to "see or comment on adverse comments" about them.

In response, Ms Morgan said: "The committee recognises that such reports are not intended for publication, and should in normal circumstances remain confidential.

"But the report is now in the hands of an unknown number of third parties".