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 The RBoS
Shareholders Action Group was formed in early 2009 to represent the interests
of
shareholders
in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
This group is actively contemplating legal action on behalf of shareholders in RBS, and
was
formed at the request of a number of RBS shareholders who have lost
substantial sums of money as a result of their investment in this company.
RBS shareholders believe the considerable losses they have sustained can be
attributed to factors beyond the financial crisis. The rights issue the bank
undertook in May 2008, which they believe was promoted on a misleading
basis, is of particular concern. This was the largest ever UK rights issue
at that time, raising £12bn for RBS.
The RBOS Shareholders Action Group believes that, at the time of the rights issue, the company’s
assets were overstated and liabilities were understated. The rights issue
was priced at 200p which even then was a discount of 35% on the market
price. However, the company has recently traded at under 40p, resulting in a
massive destruction of value.
The rights issue was clearly insufficient and subsequently the company has
had to take substantial funds from the Government to cope with further asset
write-downs and as part of the “recapitalisation” programme for banks to
improve their core balance sheet ratios. This has resulted in the large
dilution of shareholders’ interests and the Government now has a financial
stake of 85% in the business. Effectively the business has been nationalised
in all but name, with the Government firmly in control of the company and
entitled to dictate its policies and strategy. In addition, investors had their dividends struck out with devastating
results for the pension incomes of thousands.
We
have appointed Olswang LLP as solicitors to prepare the formal claim
document in respect of the rights issue in May 2008. They are one of the
largest London based firms with more than 100 partners. They are very
experienced in corporate law and litigation and we considered it necessary
to appoint a firm that could match the resources likely to be deployed
against the claim. The counsel appointed to the case is Philip Marshall, QC,
of Serle Court chambers. He has extensive experience in commercial
litigation, particularly in the banking and finance sector.
Shareholders in RBS are invited to contact us so that they can register
their interest in the Group and in any subsequent legal action that may be
mounted.
RBS shareholders who wish to support us should go to the
Membership page.
For more analysis of the
rights issue, please go to this page: Rights
For the latest news on
what we are doing, please read the newsletters on this page:
News
Directors and Constitution
The
Directors of RBoS Shareholders Action Group are Roger Lawson, Michael Fox
and
Rachel Walsh. More information on the backgrounds and
qualifications of the Directors is given on this page:
Directors. The company is a “special
purpose vehicle” formed to pursue legal action as a company limited by
guarantee, i.e. it is a “not for profit” organisation. The
company is owned by its members and its objects are to act as claimant on
behalf of its members and others in respect of losses suffered from
investment in companies in which they have invested. More information
on the legal constitution of the Group is given on this web
page: Legal - or a copy of the Articles of
Association can be supplied upon request.
Other Groups
You
may be aware that there are other groups that claim to be pursuing legal
actions against RBS, particularly in respect of the rights issue. What
differentiates our group from those? One difference is that our Group is
under the control of shareholders in RBS and is not being organised or
managed by lawyers. We believe it is important that shareholders should have
control of such "Action Groups" to enable costs to be minimised and to avoid
any possibility of the claim being pursued when it has little merit, or is
unlikely to be beneficial to shareholders in RBS. Also it ensures that we
can select the best legal team available.
Common Questions and Answers
Some of the common questions that people ask,
and the answers to them, are present on this page:
Questions
The History and Recent Events at RBS
A short profile of the history of RBS and the
events over the last two years is given on this web page:
History
Profiles and Comments from Investors
Interactive Investor, one of the UK's leading online financial services
providers, has assisted us by providing some profiles of investors in RBS,
including their comments on what happened. In addition there is a short
video which is well worth looking at. Go to
www.iii.co.uk/spotlight/rbs to view this material.
No Link to RBS
The RBoS Shareholders
Action Group is not associated in any way with the Royal Bank of Scotland
Group Plc (RBS). To go to the Investor Relations section of their web site where you
will find comprehensive information on RBS, please use this link:
www.investors.rbs.com
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