London — Royal Bank of Scotland is setting up a £400m scheme to reimburse fees to customers who say they were mistreated by its small business restructuring unit as it seeks to end one of its longest-running customer service battles. The taxpayer-backed British bank said on Tuesday that it would set aside the sum after years of defending itself against claims that its Global Restructuring Group pushed some companies into bankruptcy so it could pick up their assets more cheaply. After a three-year investigation, the Financial Conduct Authority — the sector regulator — effectively cleared the bank of the most controversial allegations brought by hundreds of customers, who said the bank systematically killed off healthy businesses for profit in the wake of the credit crunch. The bank admitted some wrongdoing over its handling of small businesses, but stopped short of saying they were deliberately pushed into administration. "However, serious failings have been identified and … they mak...
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