Member Info for LIBERTY2

Their reference point is the currently proposed scheme issued October as part of the opening of the Consultation.

Their statement - ‘the number of complaints falling out of the currently proposed scheme should be relatively low’ would be accurate when measured against that scheme.

Wait and see what, if any, concessions are agreed during the Consultation period, and they will have a new measuring stick for referencing.

FCA extend claims handling deadline for firms from 5th December 2025 to 31st May 2026.

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/pause-motor-finance-complaints-handling-lift-31-may-2026

As per September prelim Results:

‘’ These actions set a clear path back to double digit RoTE by the 2028 financial year, and rising thereafter. We plan to provide a full update on our pathway to rising RoTE early next year, once we have clarity on the outcome of the FCA's consultation on an industry wide redress scheme in respect of motor finance commissions and its impact on the group’’

Yet again PI’s displaying a continued shallow understanding of the business they are invested in. Don’t complain about the lack of something which has already been correctly addressed by management.

FCA due to issue an update on possible extension to the claims pause this week.

Https://www.cityam.com/reeves-demands-bank-chiefs-back-budget/

Wonder whats being said about the huge growth impact based on the redress scheme in that Reeves / banking exec group chat.

Sorry to hear the frustrations in your words SG. Firstly, it sounds like you are perceiving a shift in the fundamentals of your investment from the original basis when you made it. Strictly speaking, thats your time to sell and move on. Why give yourself the daily headache, coupled with the doubt that you have. Slightly irrelevant point in the case of a fundamentals shift, but I seem to recall you got involved with CBG around the same time as myself so I am assuming you are sitting on a considerable profit - which makes moving on easier if thats what your guts telling you.

For conversation sake; to expand on what appear to be your main concerns.

- Management inaction: I understand where yourself and others are coming from on this, but I do not agree that they are sitting idly by. Firstly, they fought a multi-year legal battle through various courts, aggressively defending themselves, and won. Moving into the FCA matter, this is not CBG vs FCA. CBG is a tiny cog in the Lenders vs FCA setup. The scheme will not change based on CBGs opinions. Why would a FTSE250 bank be making aggressive, maverick statements toward the FCA, whilst still in a Consultation period? They have said what they need to say in a professional manner through various pieces of public release. The process will be guided by the Lenders as a whole through a very formal mechanism, which CBG will play a small part in. Reading the optics; Lloyds is taking the lead publicly, as would be obvious, biggest bank / biggest exposure, and its being uniformly, quietly supported by the others. Trade bodies like the FLA and NLDA are also pushing in a unified way. 'Fighting' public statements from small cogs like CBG are simply not useful and can hinder the Lenders reaching the outcome they want.

On to the point of buyback / dividend - yes I would like to see a buyback in the near future. I understand why there has not been one to this point which I broadly support. Managements number one priority, maintain the capital strength of the bank, for shareholders benefit. They have done a good job so far with the disposals, cost savings and working toward their medium term goal. They are likely going to wait for clarity in a very unclear situation before capital allocation decisions, but we shall see.

Skeletons in the closet - nobody can predict that ultimately, certainly not on this forum. But take a view on the total lack of reported selling by any of the Significant Holders who own around 60% of CBG - this would contradict your view that they are in the know and this is why the SP is slipping. The theory of CBG being used as a short-hedge against the market due to lack of dividend and volatility makes sense to me. Short term reality.

Also bear in mind, avg volume of 350,000 shares per day. 0.25% of the float being traded - its tiny. The big boys are just holding tight (II ownership at around 87%), without emotion.

Do what works for you, don't lose sleep

@AMGenerousDerby - assuming from your comment, you attended the AGM in person?

I have yet to see a recording of it, cannot find one online, I was unable to tune in live.

Anything of interest discussed, regarding the Boards view on buyback / dividend resumption in the short / medium term? Or were they following the 'we will review once uncertainty is resolved' caveat.

Question about the AM Online Article - you only need to sign up using an email address, no cost, simple.

Https://www.am-online.com/news/judicial-review-of-redress-scheme-inevitable-warns-barrister?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Ah the Bears are back in town - emboldened and brazen, hairy chests pushed out with the infinite wisdoms of coin-toss hindsight. Looking at the broader Macro picture, the Bears may well get some more airtime for the coming weeks / months. All part of a healthy, functioning market, at some point providing opportunities across the Globe for those with the longer term view and cash on tap - buy when there is blood on the streets. Keep the discussions up if they contain some fact based conversational depth rather than shallow substance lacking comments - balance is important here when its formed form factually.

Interesting listen from Dentons - https://www.dentons.com/en/insights/newsletters/2025/november/20/regulation-rules-the-world/get-out-of-my-dreams-and-into-my-redress-scheme

Various points which have been discussed here previously:

- Consultation period extension is highly unusual; suggestive of FCA doubt on whether the scheme will pass without significant challenge.

- They make conversation on the fact that the FCA has arguably time-barred the scheme, as has been discussed here. At 13 minutes ish (I suggest you take 30mins with a coffee and listen to it all, it gives a balanced view), they comment about the FCA opening the investigation in 2017, publishing *PUBLIC* findings in 2019, which is now 6 year time-barred in law, if it is argued a diligent consumer could have found out the facts of the contract. The FCA nailed their coffin on this fact when they made a statement on it in Parliament of all places, during the House of Lords enquiry (see the role of those polite panel probing sessions now?). Looking forward to seeing how that pans out.

Lots of uncertainty (mostly in the FCA office), lots of interesting times ahead, lots of words and emotions to spill from PI's in the meantime. I would suggest zooming out and giving yourselves a break - without being argumentative, why do you feel your abilities to time a market are greater than the circa 90% of II who own this share, and have only added in recent times, not sold; or the multi-billion pound shorts who chose to close at £5+ after SC... I highly doubt those guys are drowning in their 'on-paper' regrets with the 'shoulda, coulda, woulda' approach, it appears to be quite a PI trait of inflated self-expecation. I think it stems from not truly understanding or sticking to your own goals - whether thats a LTH with a 5 year plus horizion, after previously buying at a level you were happy with based on specific fundamentals, or chopping in and out of a market when the wind changes or the charts say to, trying to make a buck on timing - which ever you choose, just stick to it, your mindset should be nailed to it or your original investments and subsequent decisions will likely stop making sense real quick, both when a price falls and rises.

Enjoy your day folks.

AGM Results - buyback ability passed overwhelmingly as expected.

Interestingly, No votes for re-election of certain board members has spiked. Around 7% with recent years at 0 to 4%. Activist II holders pushing agenda I would suspect.

I am awaiting a link to the AGM recording coming on to the CBG portal, unless anyone has a recorded livestream link?

Trading update - Positive.

Buyback - I am assuming the resolution was passed again enabling a buyback for the next 12 months. I would like to see one at these levels - perhaps it will come in the short term future (once FCA consultation closed? Perhaps). Maybe they still consider the risk of material increase too real. Maybe they are waiting for Winterflood cash to hit the account. Maybe they are just ultra-conservative and not the right management team for some investors. Maybe maybe.

Be interesting to see what order volume is lurking under the £4 level that the sp is being dragged down to on piddly trades.

Enjoy your day folks.

Verbatim - yes, intentionally so. Game theory in one of its simpler forms; cooperation amongst lenders, forming coalition for a shared goal.

Correction *compared to 2024, same quarter*

A few recent points of interest -

- you can expect the FCA to advise if the current pause on complaints handling will be delayed to July 31st (from Dec 5th), in the next few days, probably Monday / Tuesday. I expect they will delay.

- complaints to the FOS fell 50% in the third quarter, compared to 2025. Fuelled by the new fee to CMCs proving a major deterrent for spurious claims, and the current pause.

- the FSCS deposit limit will be raised on 1st Dec from £85k to £120k. CBG and other small / mid size banks will tend to benefit due to the higher rates they offer, if customers are protected. A large portion of the customer deposit base at CBG is at the £85k limit, so this can be expected to increase, offering greater deposit base.

- Leeds Reforms starting to work their way through - proposals expected to be a more significant gain for mid size banks such as CBG.

Mrmarkyw - Latest conlusions, that you ask for; broadly the same one which has always been known about the FCA, they are virus on the landscape of British commerce. I do however, consider this latest FCA Policy Update to be in the extremes of their behaviour to date. It is there most blatant acknowledgement to this point that they are fully aware of their internal failings in the motor finance saga. Its full protectionist mode, and they know whats coming.

This will be pulled up by the press, Parliament, somebody at some point in the near future. The fact they have shrouded the signifcant Policy changes under the simple guise of an 'inflation linked update' is either comical or insulting, however you choose to view it, and if you are looking for a sincere admission of guilt, there it is.

The house is crumbling around them - have no doubt of that. Quite how it will play out for the FCA I do not know, but things are starting to gain pace, and these moves from their camp show it.

All the best.

Been researching this one this evening.

This is a bold statement after witnessing and educating myself on the FCAs in-depth movements over the past 12 months - but this is the most toxic, rancid act they have committed to date. It absolutely stinks and is the most blatant mask over their, clearly acknowledged , internal failings to date. Talk about changing the rules retrospectively.

If this doesn’t prompt something very significant I will be surprised - this needs to go to the likes of Bloomberg if the political pressure does not build organically for a forced Treasury review.

Full policy -

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy-and-guidance/statements-of-polcy-statutory-investigation-failure-producing-reports.pdf

14th November - FCA update Policy for Investigations into Regulatory Failures

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/statement-policy-statutory-investigations-regulatory-failure-and-producing-reports

Interesting timing to review a policy which has sat dormant since 2013...

Have a read and draw your own conclusions on whether the two stage requirement for failure has been met.

Knot - on the Clydesdale matter… I take your original slant on why Barclays withdrew based around timing and effectively holding the card for a later date, however as time goes on and the dynamics evolve, I struggle to accept that withdrawing was necessarily the correct move - this is of course on the assumption that Barclays felt they could indeed win the case (maybe they didn’t).

From the hearing date in Sept, we would be anticipating a verdict in the next few weeks. If a new ruling was pending, I don’t believe the FCA could have moved forward with the proposal, given how much the scheme is hinging on Clydesdale. I feel it would have been delayed until verdict.

On the basis Barclays win, which is your feeling, the scheme fails at that point. Done and dusted.

I also hear the analogy of letting the FCA dig ‘never interrupt your opponent when he is making a mistake’. But to my layman eye, this could have been squashed cleanly by the year end with a successful overturn of Clydesdale following the Sept hearing.

Perhaps Barclays were indeed taking the pragmatic approach and hoping for a smaller scale scheme initially, and it hasn’t played out as they would have hoped.

Who knows.

Hasn't been touched on for a while. The CoCo Bond CBG issued in 2023 is currently trading at around its high point. A strong signal of confidence in the Groups capital position.

Bond is currently trading at 108.26, 8.2% above par. This equates to a yield to call for investors buying today at around 8.5% per annum. Compare this to November 2024 low point, when the bond traded at 87.76, 12.2% below par which would provide the investor at that point a 14.6% pa yield to call, if redeemed in 2029.

Clear to see the shift in confidence from the longer term money market.

I would imagine CBG will be working toward redeeming the bond in 2029, potentially re-financing at a lower rate if the strong market demand remains and they want the extra capital on book still, or doing without if they deem there Tier 1 sufficient at that point. This would either translate to approx £9m pa saving (reduced from £22m accounting for RoE of the additional Tier1) on interest payment, or re-fi at a lower rate.

https://live.deutsche-boerse.com/bond/xs2541917105-close-brothers-group-plc-11-125?mic=XFRA

I should have also concluded the paragraph on Buybacks with this thought:

The very large Instiutional ownership of CBG will tend to guide these matters in the appropriate direction. They have the influence and the channels to press the management on the path they feel is best for their investment. If that is pushing them to deploy £70m and buyback 10% of the shares, then theres a good chance that will happen. Alternatively, if they feel the cash is best left in the bank, literally, for the time-being until the realities are known, then theres a good chance that will happen.