Bid to salvage delayed RBS report

THE City watchdog is to call in a powerful Commons committee boss to salvage its long-delayed report into the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland after hitting a legal stumbling block, according to a newspaper report.

By The Newsroom

Published 2nd May 2011, 08:00 BST

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is expected to admit defeat in efforts to publish its controversial report into RBS, which it had originally pledged to publish in March. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the cross-party Treasury Select Committee, is understood to be in talks to be appointed “independent validator” of the report as the FSA seeks to head off criticism over its failure to produce the document.

The FSA is said to have been unable to overcome legal complexities in getting a report cleared by RBS lawyers.

Lord Turner, chairman of the FSA, was forced to promise a more in-depth report into the failure of RBS in an open letter after the regulator came under heavy political and public fire for its original decision not to reveal details of its investigation.

But it has already missed its March deadline and cannot give an updated timetable on when the report is due.