Royal Bank of Scotland has been accused of misleading a property tycoon into taking out an interest rate swap which allegedly forced his firm into financial distress, then “bullying” him when he questioned the bank’s actions. The claims have been made in court filings from Stuart Wall who argues that his firm Opal Property Group, which specialised in student accommodation, went bust because of RBS’s actions. Mr Wall, whose personal wealth was estimated at £180m in 2010, is claiming for damages expected to amount to £400m. RBS denies any wrongdoing. Mr Wall argues that he trusted RBS to act as a partner and adviser to his business in the years leading up to 2007, when it issued Opal with an interest rate swap ahead of a planned fundraising by the business. He said that the bank wrongly informed him he had to renew the swap even when the bond issuance was cancelled, resulting in multi-million pound profits for RBS at the expense of Opal.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been accused by property tycoon, Stuart Wall, of misleading him and his company, Opal Property Group, into taking out an interest rate swap which forced his company into financial distress, then "bullying" him when he questioned RBS. Opal, which specialised in student accommodation, went bust due to the bank's actions; Wall is claiming damages of £400m. RBS denies any wrongdoing.