The SME panel is responsible for advising the BBRS on emerging trends, issues and areas of concern regarding access to finance and treatment of SMEs. 

The disbandment of the panel is in response to the resignation of Antony Townsend, the panel’s chairman, who said it had proved ‘very difficult to make progress’.

In light of the resignation, the BBRS said it had ‘brought forward’ the closure of the panel, which was due to be disbanded in December 2023.

The BBRS was established in response to the commitments made by the banking and finance industry following the Simon Walker review, to provide a free and independent dispute resolution service to SMEs that were not eligible for the Financial Ombudsman Service.