RBS memo to ‘let customers hang themselves’ sparks fury

Ex-MP says callous banking tactics following 2008 crash drove small business owners to suicide

rbs_newspapers.jpg
Newspapers broke the news in October 2008 that the Treasury was investing billions to bail out the banks
(Image credit: Alessandro Abbonizio/AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Bank of Scotland manager suggested struggling business customers be left to “hang themselves” following the 2008 financial crisis that saw taxpayers spend £45bn to bail out the failed bank.

The 2009 internal memo, called “Just Hit Budget!”, provided staff with a list of ways to squeeze money out of business clients scrambling to repay loans following the collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers, HBOS and Edinburgh-based RBS.

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