Mark Garnier has joined, as vice chair, a new Parliamentary Group to investigate the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products by UK banks, and the effect this has had on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
The All-Party Mis-Selling Group has already attracted 48 MPs from across the parties, reflecting the serious concerns amongst Parliamentarians about whether enough is being done to support the thousands of SMEs impacted by the mis-selling of 'swaps'. The FSA redress scheme is currently not providing the level of independence necessary to ensure a fair hearing for claims, and action needs to be taken to support the SMEs who have been mis-sold these products by banks - many of whom are being forced into administration.
Mark said, "The considerable interest in this new cross-party group is a strong indication of the concern in Parliament over mis-sold swaps. The FSA scheme is not addressing the problem quickly enough - and businesses are closing as a result.
"The group aims to ensure that SMEs are not marginalised by those banks who are managing the claims over their own mistakes, and to prevent such reckless sales practices from occurring again."
Mark will be able to bring his expertise from the Treasury Committee to bear on this important issue and has already used this experience in his role on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards to dig deep, as part of a public witness session, into the whole issue of interest rate swap miss-selling.