Stephen Pegge, Managing Director for Commercial Finance for UK Finance, has been appointed to the Board of the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) as a non-executive director. The BBRS’ articles provide for one board member with experience in the banking sector. His appointment took place following a rigorous and competitive recruitment and selection process.

The BBRS is a non-profit organisation set up to resolve disputes between larger eligible SMEs and participating banks. Seven major banks have worked in partnership with SME stakeholders to launch this new, free, service.

The BBRS will take a personal and flexible approach to each case and will look to utilise a variety of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques to resolve SME complaints. Stephen’s appointment brings the total number of BBRS Board members to nine, including independent non-executive directors and representatives from the SME community.

Commenting on Stephen Pegge’s appointment, Lewis Shand Smith, Chair of the BBRS, said:

“We are very lucky to have attracted Stephen to play what will be a vital role on our board. He brings with him deep knowledge of the sector, sound judgement, and a close familiarity with the path that has led to the creation of the BBRS.  Indeed, he has championed the importance of the initiative from the start.

“As a board, we are here to balance the interests of SMEs and the banks, while delivering on our public interest mission to deliver fair and reasonable outcomes with regard to unresolved banking disputes. Stephen’s appointment will make a material contribution to our being able to do that and I am delighted to welcome him to the board.”

Stephen Pegge said:

“The BBRS can play a vital role in resolving disputes, building trust and informing improvements to banking practice. I’m very pleased to have been appointed and look forward to working with the other distinguished board members.”

Details of the BBRS’ other board members can be found here.

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Notes to Editors

About UK Finance

UK Finance is the collective voice for the banking and finance industry. Representing more than 250 firms across the industry, we act to enhance competitiveness, support customers and facilitate innovation.

At UK Finance, Stephen leads on policy relating to commercial banking, invoice finance and asset-based lending. He has helped establish the Covid lending schemes and leads on the transition from LIBOR. Stephen chairs an advisory group for the department of culture media and sport on creative scale ups and is a member of the Rose Review board on female entrepreneurship.

With 37 years of experience in banking and finance, Stephen was previously at Lloyds Banking Group and was a member of executive committees in the Group’s commercial banking and retail divisions. Stephen is also a director of UK Business Angels Association and former chair of Prime Cymru, a charity founded by HRH the Prince of Wales.

Stephen has been closely involved in the setting up of the BBRS.

About the BBRS

The BBRS is a dispute resolution service set up to resolve disputes between eligible small and medium sized businesses and participating banks. The BBRS is being established in accordance with a voluntary commitment made by the banking and finance industry in response to the Simon Walker Review on the small business complaints landscape.

An Implementation Steering Group was established in January 2019, and is driving and overseeing the development of the service in line with the banking and finance industry’s commitment and agreed terms of reference. The seven participating banks are: Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group (including Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland), NatWest Group (including Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank Northern Ireland), Santander UK plc, Virgin Money (including Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank). Alongside the participating banks, the Implementation Steering Group comprises many representative groups acting on behalf of small and medium sized businesses.

The so-called ‘Live Pilot’, set up at the end of last year, is looking at over 40 cases. Some date back as far as 2001, others arose in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, some are more recent. The pilot has been testing some of the policies and procedures on which this new approach to handling business customers’ complaints is based. The independent BBRS will go live this autumn.

For more information visit the BBRS website https://thebbrs.org/.

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