MPs demand answers over RBS tech meltdown

MPs are demanding answers over Royal Bank of Scotland’s recent IT disaster that has left millions of RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank customers unable to withdraw cash or make payments for over a week.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said RBS’s major IT issues – the latest in a series of computer failures to affect bank customers – are ‘unacceptable’.

‘We need to know exactly what went wrong and what will be done to give us confidence that similar mistakes are not repeated in the future,’ he said.

‘Basic bank functions are crucial in a modern economy. It is deeply concerning that they appear to have been put at risk again’.

Tyrie has written both to Stephen Hester, RBS’ chief executive, and Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), demanding an explanation as to how the banking disaster has been allowed to happen.

Tyrie’s questions include:

• What caused the problem?
• How many customers have been affected?
• What plans does the FSA have to investigate?
• What effect has this crisis had on the level of customer switching?

The Treasury Select Committee said once it has received responses it will decide what further action to take.

RBS confirmed yesterday that the major backlog of account balance updates have been fixed for the majority of RBS and NatWest customers, but warned that normal service is unlikely to fully resume for a number of days due to the 'significant stress on the system'.

Ulster Bank customers, meanwhile, are likely to continue experiencing serious problems for the remainder of the week, RBS added, apologising once again for an 'unacceptable level of service'.

The banking group has so far declined to comment on how many of its estimated 17 million account holders have been affected by the recent crisis.

For advice on what to do if you have been directly impacted by the RBS IT failure check out out article 'Q&A: your rights following the Natwest and RBS banking disaster'.