The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is reviewing its approach to conflicts of interest amid concerns from MPs over the relationship between banks’ restructuring divisions and professional services firms.
The institution, which regulates property valuers and certain receivers, said that it was working on strengthening its guidance on how property professionals “apply ethical principles”, after politicians aired allegations that distressed borrowers may have been treated unfairly as lenders repaired their balance sheets in the wake of the financial crisis.
Today, parliament will discuss the implications of professional services firms providing staff, sometimes free of charge or at a generous discount, on lengthy work placements to high street banks’ restructuring departments.
The debate is expected to feature the relationship between Lloyds and Alder King, a Bristol-based