The chairman of the Bradford & Bingley Action Group, which is campaigning for a public inquiry for almost 1m shareholders who lost out when the UK bank was nationalised in late 2008, lodged a Freedom of Information Act request with the FCA.
Mr Blundell said the group was still trying to clarify “exactly” what the former FSA knew about the failings at B&B, and what it may have conveyed to investors who phoned the regulator in the last days preceding the nationalisation.
According to Mr Blundell, the shareholder group has a transcript of a telephone conversation, which indicated that officers at the FSA were reassuring the public on B&B’s financial viability in the week ending 21 September 2008, before nationalisation on 28 September.
The transcript, seen by Financial Adviser, seems to indicate that a shareholder called specifically to ask about B&B and was reassured as to the financial viability of the company.
Mr Blundell claimed: “It would appear that the FCA has been less than white in its handling of this latest issue in our quest for the truth and whether recording of conversations with members of the public over B&B were deployed.”
However in recent correspondence from the UK financial regulator to BBAG the FCA maintains that regulator’s consumer contact centre had no records of “reassuring” the general public up to six working days prior to bank’s nationalisation.
An email received by BBAG from the FCA’s information access team in April, seen by Financial Adviser, said: “Although the regulator holds records that its CCC received calls relating to B&B during the week ending 21 September 2008, we have no record that ‘officers were reassuring members of the public’ re the financial viability of B&B.”
The move follows the group’s efforts to gain specific information from the Cabinet Office under the FoI Act through an appeal hearing on 16 April before the first-tier information tribunal.
The tribunal decision was expected by early May but has been delayed by a number of weeks.
A spokesman for the FCA said: “The FCA is unable to comment as it has only recently received a request, which it is considering.”
Industry view
Gary Wright, chief executive of Biss Research, which has published several papers concerning FCA rules that financial services firms should record and retain electronic records of communication with the public, said: “In light of the regulator’s rules, which it enforces with regulated financial services firms, it appears odd that it does not practice what it preaches.
“I doubt that it does not have records to assist in this inquiry, due to the importance of the investigation. It’s natural in this case to think there is a cover-up.”
Adviser View
Simon Mansell, director for Worcestershire-based Temple Bar IFA, said: “The FSA called Equitable Life solvent before it went under, so clearly the position of the regulator may well have encouraged some to invest, and some to remain invested, to the detriment of consumers. Clearly this does not fit with the principles of treating customers fairly. The regulator is unaccountable.”
