21
Accepted
In the Letter of Concern, the Bank outlined what it considered to be breaches of...
Conclusion
In the Letter of Concern, the Bank outlined what it considered to be breaches of the guarantee agreement. In the Letter, the Bank also suspended the guarantee while the investigation was ongoing and invited representations from Greensill.59 We asked the Bank why it had taken so long between initiating the investigation in October 2020 and issuing the first Letter of Concern in March 2021. In response, the Bank said that it was a “very complex situation” and that it wanted to ensure it “followed the process properly” before putting forward its concerns formally. The Bank acknowledged that it was possible it could have issued the Letter of Concern sooner, but it thought this was “probably unadvisable”.60 The Bank and the Department told us that they felt there was “no real 53 C&AG’s Report, paras 13, 3.4, figure 8 54 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.5, 3.9 55 Qq 75, 77–78, 90, 133, 136 56 Q 47 57 C&AG’s Report, para 3.9 58 Q 49 59 C&AG’s Report, para 3.10 60 Qq 46–47 Lessons from Greensill Capital: accreditation to business support schemes 17 benefit from rushing the process” as they wanted to be sure the decision to suspend the guarantee would not be challenged.61 Greensill’s administrators have indicated that their view is that the loans were compliant with the scheme rules, including those relating to group lending, and any decision to revoke the guarantee would constitute a breach of the guarantee agreement and Greensill would reserve the right to seek damages.62
Government Response Summary
The government states the Bank has written to the Committee on 17 December 2021 and will inform them when its investigation into Greensill's lending concludes, expected in early 2022, prioritizing a thorough and informed decision.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 5.2 The Bank has written to the Committee on this matter on 17 December 2021. 5.3 The Bank’s priority is that the investigation into Greensill’s lending under the scheme is thorough, in order that a fully informed view can be taken as to whether the CLBILS rules were breached by Greensill. The obligations of the Guarantor remain suspended whilst the investigation into Greensill’s lending under CLBILS continues. Whilst the suspension is in place, the Government is not obliged pay out on any claim on the guarantee in respect of CLBILS facilities provided by Greensill. 5.4 In light of the amount of taxpayer money potentially at stake, the Bank’s primary concern is that a decision is taken upon a full and informed picture, rather than that a quick resolution is reached. The Bank will inform the Committee when the outcome of its investigation into Greensill’s lending has been reached, which is expected to be in the early months of 2022.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry
Lessons from Greensill Capital
Report
Twenty-Sixth Report - Lessons from Greensill Capital: accreditation to business support schemes
20 Nov 2021
HC 169
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
4.7 yrs
Report published
20 Nov 2021