Scottish bank fined 28 million

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been slapped with a £28.6 million fine after breaking competition laws over loan pricing. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that some staff at the part-nationalised bank had passed on confidential information about the pricing of professional loans to rival Barclays between October 2007 and February or March 2008. This information was used by the second bank to determine its own pricing. However, Barclays escaped a fine after it reported the matter to the OFT. RBS initially faced a £33.6 million fine, but this was reduced after the bank, which is 84% owned by the government, agreed to co-operate over the breaches. RBS and Barclays are the main providers of loan products to professional services firms.