The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that Clydesdale was in breach of legal undertakings that prohibit it, along with 7 other of the UK’s largest banks, from requiring small businesses to open a business current account with them in order to apply for any loan.

The practice, known as bundling, means customers are forced to open a business current account with their loan provider. This practice restricts competition and limits choice. Small businesses could then be stuck paying for a business current account that does not meet their needs.

The CMA’s action comes after it found that Clydesdale had not complied with certain aspects of these rules and follows similar recent action against Lloyds Banking Group.

Clydesdale breached the undertakings by requiring customers who were running their business through a Clydesdale personal current account to also open a business current account with the bank in order to obtain a loan through the Government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme. This scheme is intended to help businesses access finance quickly during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The CMA is aware that the affected customers would not initially be charged for these business current accounts. However, small business customers may have kept these accounts open for longer than the initial fee-free period rather than opening a more suitable account with another provider.

In December, Clydesdale wrote to all affected customers to inform them that they are not required to retain the Clydesdale business current account for the whole duration of the Bounce Back Loan, and offered them the option of switching to a fee-free loan servicing account. This comprised 55 of its own customers and 112 Yorkshire Bank customers. Clydesdale Bank plc, which owns Yorkshire Bank brand, voluntarily contacted its affected customers.

The breach will be recorded on the CMA’s register of breaches and, due to the importance of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the CMA has also written publicly to the bank about this breach. The scheme provides critical support to small businesses which means that even minor breaches are regarded by the CMA as significant .

Adam Land, CMA Senior Director of Remedies Business and Financial Analysis, said:

The Bounce Back Loans Scheme provides critical support to small businesses during the pandemic. We are acting to ensure that the large banks do not restrict the choices of small businesses by bundling loans and business current accounts.

We are pleased that Clydesdale is now taking the steps necessary to become compliant

For more information, see the SME Banking Undertakings guidance page.

1. The SME Banking Undertakings came into force in 2002. They were signed by 8 of the UK’s longer-established banks and limit bundling while also providing clear pricing information and faster methods of switching. The 8 banks are generally improving their procedures to monitor and promote compliance with the SME Banking Undertakings, as illustrated in the CMA’s 2019 Report on SME Banking compliance, an annual report published on whether the banks are complying with the rules. The 2018-2019 reporting period shows that no banks breached these undertakings.

2. The following 8 banks are currently subject to the bundling prohibition: AIB Group (UK) plc; Bank of Ireland; Barclays Bank plc; Clydesdale Bank plc, HSBC Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group, Danske Bank and NatWest Group plc (formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which includes Ulster Bank Limited in Northern Ireland).

3. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was launched by the Government on 4 May 2020.

4. Yorkshire Bank is a trading name of Clydesdale Bank PLC.

Pure Point was incorporated in April 2009 and Russell Ivan Murch (43), from Leicester, became director in August 2010. The company was based in Lutterworth and manufactured signs and displays.

In April 2016, Pure Point experienced difficulties collecting payments from its clients and began to use a factoring company to secure finance.

Factoring companies provide finance by purchasing invoices from a business. When the invoices are paid, arrangements are made for the proceeds to be paid back to the factoring company to repay the monies advanced to the borrower.

In August 2018, Russell Murch forwarded two emails to the factoring company advising them to collect £185,000 from one of Pure Point’s clients.

The factoring company paid £185,000 in advance to Pure Point but when they attempted to claim funds from the client, the debts were disputed and the factoring company was unable to collect money owed to them.

Pure Point fell into rent arrears and assets were seized by the landlord. The company then went into liquidation in March 2019 before an investigation was launched by the Insolvency Service into Russell Murch’s conduct.

Investigators uncovered that the emails claiming Pure Point was owed £185,000 had been falsified. Russell Murch claimed to have received emails from the customer which he forwarded to the factoring company to receive the funds, but the email addresses used did not exist.

Russell Murch told the Insolvency Service that he informed the factoring company that due to ill health, the company’s sales manager had taken control of the company and that this employee was inflating sales.

The factoring company, however, had no record of either discussion and at liquidation, Pure Point owed them more than £257,000.

On 11 December, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Russell Murch after he admitted submitting invoices to a factoring company for £185,000 which he knew were false or inflated, or that he failed to exercise proper control over Pure Point of Sale’s financial affairs by submitting invoices without verifying they were genuine.

Russell Murch’s ban will last for ten years and commenced on 1 January 2021. Russell Murch is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Submitting false documents to dishonestly obtain funds is a serious matter. As director it was Russell Murch’s sole responsibility to ensure this didn’t happen, whether that was him or another employee.

Russell Murch ‘s behaviour was totally unacceptable and to be removed from the corporate arena for 10 years shows the seriousness of his actions.

Russell Ivan Murch is of Leicester and his date of birth is September 1977

Company Pure Point of Sale Limited (Company Reg no. 06874178).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Tom Smith (Managing Director, Data Science Campus, Office for National Statistics) launches the Analysis Function Learning Curriculum and talked to us about why he thinks it is an essential tool to help plan your development.

“The Analysis Function (AF) is a community of around 17,000 members working together on the highest priority analytical issues. As a member of that analytical community and as the recently appointed sponsor for the Capability and Community work strand of our function’s strategy, I am dedicated to ensuring that we provide our members with the learning and development opportunities to meet their potential.

Many of the questions we receive as a function revolve around the visibility and access of knowledge: ‘what skills do I need for my role’; ‘what learning is available to support me to develop my skills’; ‘what opportunities are available for me to learn from others?’

Last year we launched the AF Career Framework which sets the expectation of skills needed for typical analytical career paths across government, helping to answer the question of what skills people need for their roles. This year, I’m delighted to launch the AF Learning Curriculum which has started to address issues about visibility of the learning opportunities available. Whether you’re an experienced analyst or brand new to the role, there is something for everyone.

These opportunities have been curated in order for you to easily access what you’re looking for, following the Civil Service Success Profiles structure. You will also be able to see where they fit in with the 70:20:10 model of learning.

I cannot stress strongly enough just how much there is available to us and the importance of continuous professional development, helping us to reach our potential and inform our own career planning for the future. I invite you to take control of your own development. You can use both the AF Career Framework and AF Learning curriculum to help with your planning and I would urge you to take advantage of the excellent opportunities that are signposted.

Whilst the AF Learning Curriculum as you see it is a great starting point, this is by no means a finished product and potentially never will be. As and when we find great learning opportunities to support our members, we will add these to the curriculum. We also want to know what you think; are there any opportunities we’ve missed? Does the structure work for you? Please do email your thoughts to analysis.function@ons.gov.uk

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight one of the opportunities which has just been launched – the Analysis Function Speed Mentoring scheme. Following a successful trial last year, we are re-launching in April 2021. The scheme facilitates the pairing of members across the function, providing you with an opportunity to be a mentor and/or mentee. Run across a 12-month period, mentees will be matched to different mentors once per quarter for a 30 minute mentoring session. To find out more or to register your interest, email analysis.function@ons.gov.uk”

Tom Smith Manager Director, Data Science Campus, ONS

Winners from each location (Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney) will gain insights into what it is like to lead a diplomatic mission. They will get the opportunity to work alongside heads of office to get a ‘behind the scenes’ view of diplomacy, politics, trade and cultural exchange.

British High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadell said:

I am continually struck by the passion and dedication of young people I meet in my role. I am keen to hear new ideas and different perspectives – it’s energising! This competition offers young women a platform to outline what changes they would make to improve gender equality and the opportunity for us to learn from one another.

I would encourage all young women, including trans+, to enter the competition and start a conversation with my UK in Australia team.

To enter the competition applicants should submit a short video explaining how they would #ChooseToChallenge if they were High Commissioner for the day and what policies or initiatives they would recommend to make a difference. The competition is to mark International Women’s Day 2021 and support this year’s #ChooseToChallenge theme.

Applications are open to anyone who identifies as female, aged 16 to 22 and who is able to attend one of the UK missions (Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney) on or around Monday 8 March 2021.

See also the full terms and conditions of the competition.

A panel from the UKinAustralia team will select two winners per location (Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney) from all entries to the ‘Be a British High Commissioner for a Day’ competition. Winners will be announced on UKinAustralia social media channels.

This competition forms part of the UK Government’s efforts to increase its engagement with future leaders and builds on the Young Leader’s Network which The High Commissioner launched in November 2020.

Deputy Consul-General Melbourne, Catriona Boyd said:

This time last year, I was lucky enough to be listening to an excellent panel exploring the role of women in politics and business. A year on, something that sticks in my mind was a unanimous agreement that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’.

It wasn’t until after a move to London in my early-20s that I discovered jobs like mine were available, and more importantly, accessible. If young people can only be what they can see, then it’s also important that we help them know where to look.

That’s why I’m excited to launch this competition and welcome a new generation of young women to the team for a day.

Further information

• British High Commissioner Vicki Treadell is the UK government’s representative in Australia. She became British High Commissioner to Australia on 13 March 2019.
• Read more from Catriona Boyd about her experience as a young leader in the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office: https://blogs.fcdo.gov.uk/ukinaustralia/2021/02/02/high-commissioner-for-a-day-comp/
• For more information on the Young Leaders Network contact: YoungLeaders.Australia@fcdo.gov.uk
• For media enquiries, contact hazel.gidley@fcdo.gov.uk; Emily.phillips@fco.gov.uk or call +61 406 746 806