Close Brothers shares hit as car loans commissions ruling spooks investors

Shares in Close Brothers have taken a sharp hit in the wake of a landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal which determined that motor finance brokers must provide full disclosure on commissions when arranging car loans.

The decision comes after three cases involving Close Brothers, Motonovo Finance and South African Firstrand Bank were merged earlier this year. The cases were given the green light in March to appeal the decisions of earlier court hearings and all proceeded to one trial at the Court of Appeal in July.

The judges ruled that disclosure did not happen in any of these cases which initially found in favour of the lenders concerned and today, the court revealed it has unanimously allowed all three appeals.