RBS Posts Ridiculous Article + Disclaimer
A friend recently showed me a ridiculous article that RBS posted on its website last year. (Please see The five trends shaping Germany to 2030.)
That post isn’t ridiculous because of the article’s content. It is ridiculous because the disclaimer RBS provided following that article, at 994 words, is almost twice as long as the article, itself!
RBS Disclaimer Details
Furthermore, if one reads the mind-numbing disclaimer word-by-word, one finds some interesting content.
For example:
- Several times, RBS notes that its proprietary interests may conflict with the reader’s interests.
- RBS writes that the information in the article supposedly “is proprietary to RBS and is being provided to selected recipients and may not be given (in whole or in part) or otherwise distributed to any other third party without the prior written consent of RBS.” [Emphasis added.] However, this information actually has been presented on a publicly available website!
- Similarly, RBS alleges that the article, although available to the public, “is intended for distribution only to major institutional investors as defined in Rule 15a-6(a)(2) of the U.S. Securities Act 1934 (excluding documents produced by our affiliates within the U.S.)” [Emphasis added.]
Financial Services Industry
I suppose that I should feel compassion for RBS, given that is in the heavily-regulated financial services industry and must satisfy requirements imposed by many different governments.
However, I find it difficult to do so given that RBS apparently chose throw in every disclaimer that ever could apply under any circumstances, without trying to determine what makes sense in this specific context.
As a result, I feel compelled to write the post about that ridiculous RBS disclaimer.
Dana H. Shultz, Attorney at Law +1 510 547-0545 dana [at] danashultz [dot] com
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer directly.
