In March 2012, the Financial Services Authority (predecessor regulator to the FCA) identified significant issues with the sale of Interest Rate Hedging Products (IRHPs) to UK Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The FSA intervened and secured voluntary agreements with the banks to provide redress. Following the Treasury Select Committee’s recommendation in its report Conduct and Competition in SME Lending published in June 2015, the FCA committed to a review of its supervisory intervention on IRHPs. But the start of the review was deferred pending the conclusion of legal action relating to the redress scheme. The independent review will consider the FSA’s approach, implementation and oversight of the redress scheme to understand what lessons can be learned. The review is not intended to be a route to lead to the redress scheme being re-opened.

On 11 March 2021, the FCA reported that John Swift QC, the Independent Reviewer appointed in respect of the review of the supervisory intervention on IRHPs, has now provided the regulator with his draft report. The report is expected to be finalised and published in summer 2021.