Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ attempt to intervene in a landmark case over controversial car loans has been blocked by the UK’s highest court.
The Supreme Court case set for April will rule on whether lenders should have clearly told customers how much commission they were making from selling car loans.
The Court of Appeal ruled last year that lenders should have been clearer, but the lenders are appealing this ruling in April’s case.
The Treasury attempted to intervene last month due to concerns the ruling would reduce the availability of car loans. It told the BBC it respected Monday’s Supreme Court decision to block its intervention.
The vast majority of new cars, and many second-hand ones, are bought with finance agreements.
In 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned deals in which the dealer received a commission from the lender, based on the interest rate charged to the customer. It said this provided an incentive for a buyer to be charged a higher-than-necessary interest rate.
Since January, it has been considering whether compensation should be paid to people who had these deals before 2021.
That has created the prospect of banks and other lenders having to make payouts totalling millions of pounds.
Last month, a decision at the Court of Appeal broadened the net of those who could receive compensation.
Some analysts estimate total payments could reach as much as £30bn in a scandal that could end up being the largest compensation scheme regarding financial products since the payment protection insurance (PPI) saga.
The government said last month that, while it wanted to make sure customers get redress, it also wanted the motor sector to be able to continue “supporting millions of motorists to own vehicles”.
It expressed concerns at the time that the size of the compensation bill for lenders could undermine the competitiveness of UK banks.
A spokesperson for the Treasury said on Monday: “We respect the Court’s decision to not grant our application to intervene… and will monitor it closely”.
The court also rejected applications to intervene in the case from Consumer Voice, a compensation advisor, and trade body the Finance & Leasing Association.
It approved applications from the FCA and trade body the National Franchised Dealers Association.
The court’s time is limited, so it sometimes rejects interventions from parties who it believes may give similar evidence.
“It is very unusual for the government to intervene in court decisions in which it is not directly concerned, especially to pursue policy issues,” said Wayne Gibbard, who leads the automotive finance practice at law firm Shoosmiths.
Shares in UK banks involved in the case fell on Monday, with Lloyds Banking Group down 4% and Close Brothers Group down almost 15%.
