As tragic as it is, sadly the Post Office scandal does not overly surprise me. I have come across other such cases, and acted as expert witness where banks and investment companies have acted to cover up their own mismanagement, or abuse of process. But to me, my experience has been that there is a tendency for those in the regulatory bodies than manage these firms to side with the firms and not with the Small and Medium Business (SME) owners as a default starting point. The starting point often seems to be that it is up to the SMEs to prove they have been wronged, rather than look to the banks to explain and demonstrate why they are in the right. A very large number of SMEs would likely attest to this, if they were not too worried to do so. For, fear is often a key in this; the banks hold the power. Now, I am not saying for one moment that there are many cases where the banks have been correct, my contention is that the regulatory bodies that have been set up to protect the consumer (Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) being just 2 examples) opening stance is to believe the banks. I have acted on cases where my own calculations on losses have been disbelieved in favour of the banks, as if my own experience is not as good, or as valid. Until these sorts of governmental bodies and committees change the way that they respond to SMEs and the like, the likes of the Post Office scandal will likely happen again. More power to SMEs. #regulators #banking expert witness