RBS spending funds on U.S. lobbying

LONDON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Documents show that the Royal Bank of Scotland has been spent millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on lobbying in the United States in recent years.

RBS was bailed out by the British government in October 2008. As such, the money it is spending to influence lawmakers in Washington is, essentially, money that belongs to British taxpayers.

The bank has spent more than $4 million to influence banking reform laws in the United States, The Guardian reported Saturday.

Documents list RBS as interested in influencing lawmaker thinking on the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act, the U.S. Credit Card Act and the Dodd-Frank bank regulation overhaul bill.

The bank also spent money trying to influence the so-called swipe act that regulated limits on fees banks charge for consumers when they make a purchase with a credit or debit card.

"We have been focused on understanding the many proposals regarding the regulation of our industry in the U.S. to ensure our ability to anticipate new guidelines, maintain compliance and keep our customers informed of necessary updates to our policies, products and services in a time of significant change," a RBS spokesman said.