Fixed Rate Loans

How did this happen, I trusted my bank, why would they give me bad advice?

This came about simply because of the banks’ short-term selfishness, greed and abuse of trust. The most disturbing aspect is that they saddled customers with huge breakage cost liabilities without their knowledge. The individual bank staff who made large bonuses by selling these unsuitable products clearly had no concern for the long-term effects on the SME customers.

How widespread is the problem, how many Fixed Rate Loans have been sold?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that over 69,000 Fixed Rate Loans were sold to customers across the UK. Lenders gave them different names, e.g. Tailored Business Loans (Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank, owned by National Australia Bank), Treasury Loans (Lloyds Bank), Sterling Fixed Rate Loans (Royal Bank of Scotland). Of course many other UK Banks sold them too (HBOS, NatWest, Barclays, Ulster, Allied Irish, Santander, Handelsbanken) as did several building societies including the Nationwide.