SME Banking Undertakings: Glossary
Published 20 July 2023
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The following words and expressions shall bear the following meanings in the Reports:
| 2014 Agreement | signed by the eight banks. The 2014 Agreement is available in Appendix A of this Report |
|---|---|
| Audit report | a requirement in the 2014 Agreement for the eight banks to conduct annual audit reviews and submit audit reports to the CMA. |
| Annual Reminders | referred to in section 2 of the 2014 Agreement. On an annual basis, the eight banks are required to provide to each of its Relevant Staff, a specific and direct written reminder (which covers no issues other than the subject matter of the Undertakings). |
| banks, The eight | AIB Group (UK) plc (known as AIB NI in this report, and previously known as First Trust); Bank of Ireland; Barclays Bank plc (Barclays); Clydesdale Bank plc’s SME Business and Branches in Scotland (Clydesdale); HSBC UK Bank plc and HSBC Bank plc (together, HSBC); Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds); Northern Bank Limited (known as Danske) and NatWest Group (NatWest) (formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)) which includes Ulster Bank Limited (Ulster Bank) in Northern Ireland (together referred to in this Report as ‘the eight banks’). Nine banks originally agreed to the behavioural undertakings, two of these banks, HBOS Plc and Lloyds TSB Bank plc, subsequently merged to become Lloyds Banking Group. |
| BCAs | Business Current Accounts |
| BBLS | Bounce Back Loans Scheme |
| CMA | Competition and Markets Authority. On 1 April 2014, the relevant functions of the OFT and the CC were transferred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) under Schedule 5 to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and the Schedule to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (Commencement No. 6, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2014. |
| OFT | Office of Fair Trading |
| Report | CMA’s Report on Compliance 2022 |
| SMEs | Small and Medium-size Enterprises |
| Undertakings | SME Banking Undertakings (Behavioural) 2002. These Undertakings were given to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Chancellor of the Exchequer under the monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973. They were signed by nine banks in 2002 and require them to: ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can take out a loan or open a deposit account without also needing to open a business current account. Publish details of their tariffs. Meet time targets for account switching services. |
Bundling restrictions are set out in Clauses 17 to 20 of the Undertakings. In 2016, the CMA conducted a review and made a decision to release some obligations under the Undertakings. However, the bundling restrictions were retained.[footnote 1]