Solicitor and Barrister from LexLaw, Ali Akram, talks to IBTimes UK about legal rights surrounding the mis-selling derivatives scandal (Photo: IBTimes UK)
Solicitor and Barrister from LexLaw, Ali Akram, talks to IBTimes UK about legal rights surrounding the mis-selling derivatives scandal (Photo: IBTimes UK)

Britain's biggest banks have mis-sold derivatives to potentially 40,000 businesses but only around 30 people have actually been offered redress or compensation to date.

According to a survey by an independent lobby group, Bully-Banks, the vast majority of interest rate swap agreements (IRSA) were sold in 2006, 2007 and 2008 meaning that those businesses which have this product will have either diminshed or no legal rights if they decide to either take the bank to court.

Sources close to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told IBTimes UK that the Bully-Banks survey is broadly in line with the regulator's findings.

Speaking to IBTimes TV, ahead of the parliamentary debate about the mis-selling of derivatives, LexLaw's solicitor and barrister Ali Akram told us about how the scandal and how many businesses are flooding into litigation because of the slow pace of redress.

The Statute of Limitations Act means that companies or individuals planning to sue a bank via the courts over an allegedly mis-sold product only has six years from the sale or acknowledgement of potential wrongdoing to start the procedure.

Therefore businesses that own an IRSA from 2006 or 2007 will have no legal right to take a bank to court unless their litigator has filed a complaint already.

For businesses that have an IRSA dated from 2008, this will mean that they have until the exact month, next year, to file a lawsuit if they decide to either bypass the FCA redress scheme or do it in tandem.

For the full interview, check out IBTimes TV or the video on the top right hand side of this page

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