Bailed-out British lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been fined £28.6 million ($43.0 million) for revealing details of its loan pricing to rival Barclays, Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said today.
The OFT said RBS executives had passed on information regarding the bank's pricing of loans to professional services firms such as lawyers and accountants, a market which is dominated by RBS and Barclays.
Barclays used the information to set its own prices but escaped a fine because it reported the matter to the OFT, the watchdog said.
"Any company that discloses confidential future pricing information to its competitors risks a substantial penalty," said Ali Nikpay, the OFT's senior director of cartels and criminal enforcement.
"It is important that companies operating in the UK understand the seriousness of such conduct."
Reuters
