Barclays puts aside £90m for motor finance scandal
Barclays announced in its annual results it had set aside £90m to cover potential motor finance payouts, amidst ongoing disputes over the misconduct row.
This follows the landmark Court of Appeal’s October 2024 judgment, ruling in favour of three consumers and determining that lenders were liable for paying undisclosed commission to car dealers who acted as credit brokers.
Barclays said between legal and regulatory developments, along with the ongoing Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) review into motor finance commission, it had made a provision for its subsidiary Clydesdale Financial Services.
The FTSE 100 bank said it had “estimated the potential impact of these matters by considering the potential basis for and timing of redress, which complaints may be valid or invalid, and the potential level of such complaints”.
It added assumptions were “subject to significant uncertainty and will be monitored and updated if any new information becomes available”.
This comes as Close Brothers announced on Wednesday it expects to set aside up to £165m for potential legal and compensation costs, as well as Santander reserving £295 in its quarterly results in November.
The FCA will set out the next steps of its review in May 2024, and under current rules Barclays’ obligation to respond to motor finance commission complaints has been paused until after December 4, 2025.
Despite the provision adding to fourth quarter expenses, total operating expenses at the lender fell to £979m, down from £1.4bn in 2023.
Whilst Barclays ended its tenure in the motor finance market in late 2019, all operations before this time fall in the scope of the FCA’s consumer redress scheme.
Barclays lost a legal challenge against the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in December 2024, over a ruling that it unfairly paid commission to a car finance broker.
The ruling dates back to the beginning of 2024, when the FOS decided Barclays had unfairly paid a commission to a credit broker in connection with a customer’s car loan.
The customer, Ms Lewis, had complained in December 2021 to the FOS about her treatment in November 2018, when she bought a second-hand Audi car from Arnold Clark.
The FOS upheld her complaint that she had not been made aware that a loan agreement she took also included a commission payment worth almost £1,600.
The bank launched a judicial review against this decision, but the court upheld FOS’s ruling.