The businesses that took out SWAP’s (and that meet the agreed criteria for the FCA initiated review) are now getting their formal letters to say that their case is to be reviewed. This explains the process and invites the business to share any information or comments that they have about the sale and the product and their own circumstances. They are given the option of doing this by letter, telephone or meeting.
I have been supporting some clients, selectively, in this process and can pass on the following tips:
- Do firstly pull together ALL the paperwork and emails etc that you have about the sale process. This may need quite a forensic approach going back in time but it is essential.
- Involve someone with a knowledge of the products, and the issues, before talking to the bank. An overview of the paperwork and talking it through will be well worth doing.
- Opt for the meeting (so much better for getting your points across) but if you need more time to prepare do not hesitate to ask for it.
- Do your research on who will be attending (‘Linked In’ a good start). You will probably find that the ‘Independent Reviewer’ is a recently retired banker, possibly from the same bank. That is not a surprise or necessarily a problem as they are the ones with the required knowledge and will be working as an ‘associate’ of one of the big accountancy firms (plus there is an FCA overview) but go in knowing ‘who is who’.
- Have all your papers in order and ready to produce. Basically you will be asked about 15 questions in a very structured way and if you have supporting documentation for your answers it helps.
- Take someone with you. That doesn’t have to be someone who is going to ‘fight your corner’ but someone who can give you some technical and moral support (otherwise it will be you looking across the table at several bankers!)
The meetings are normally recorded and for the uninitiated could be quite an intimidating experience – so the overall message is: Prepare Well.