Chancellor George Osborne to unveil new powers to rein in the banks
The Treasury will on Friday publish plans for a radical overhaul of financial regulation that will hand the Chancellor new powers to take charge in a crisis, rein in the might of the Bank of England, and provide extra protection for consumers.
The Financial Services Bill will be put to Parliament on Friday morning alongside a memorandum of understanding between the Treasury and the Bank that will set down how the authorities should respond to another financial crisis.
It will make clear that responsibility lies with the Chancellor whenever taxpayers' money is put at risk to avoid a repeat of the Northern Rock fiasco when Alistair Darling found he could not order the Bank to act.
Publication will begin the legal formalisation of the new architecture of banking supervision that will see the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) major powers moved to the Prudential Regulatory Authority at the Bank.
It will also enshrine in law the principle that the regulator can seize a failing lender and wipe out shareholders to protect financial stability.
Further powers to block banks from paying large bonuses and dividends if the regulator decides they need to rebuild their capital buffers could also be unveiled.
Following a bitter battle with the Treasury Select Committee, the Bank is expected to be subjected to new oversight to rein in its vastly increased powers.
The Court of the Bank is expected to be revamped to be able to hold the Governor and his fellow directors to account. It is also likely to become requirement that members of the Court have to be finance professionals.
Among the other changes will be Governor's term, which is expected to be moved to a single eight-year stint from a maximum of two five-year terms. (AtW's: why have much longer 8 year period, how would that make the person more accountable? It's not like one needs to run expensive elections to appoint new Gov.)
The FSA's consumer protection job will be transferred to the new Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA is expected to be handed new powers to ban products deemed not to be in the consumer's best interest even if there is no evidence of wrongdoing. Currently, the regulator acts only after something has gone wrong.
The Bill, which has already been subject to consultation, will be begin the official overhaul of banking regulation that the Conservatives first outlined when in opposition. It is expected to be made law this year in time for the new bodies to begin formally operating next year.
The changes are the biggest reform of banking supervision since Labour stripped the powers out of the Bank in 1997 and moved them to the FSA. Labour's tri-partite system of joint regulation between the Bank, the FSA and the Treasury was found wanting during the financial crisis.
Regulatory "underlap" was blamed for lack of proper supervision, with the Bank, the FSA and the Treasury all believing it was the other's job to make keep the system in check.
Source: Chancellor George Osborne to unveil new powers to rein in the banks - Telegraph
So there you have it - the end is in sight for the sham known as "Bank of England's independence". Meanwhile it can continue to take responsibility for money printing that Treasure has absolutely nothing to do with ...
The Treasury will on Friday publish plans for a radical overhaul of financial regulation that will hand the Chancellor new powers to take charge in a crisis, rein in the might of the Bank of England, and provide extra protection for consumers.
The Financial Services Bill will be put to Parliament on Friday morning alongside a memorandum of understanding between the Treasury and the Bank that will set down how the authorities should respond to another financial crisis.
It will make clear that responsibility lies with the Chancellor whenever taxpayers' money is put at risk to avoid a repeat of the Northern Rock fiasco when Alistair Darling found he could not order the Bank to act.
Publication will begin the legal formalisation of the new architecture of banking supervision that will see the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) major powers moved to the Prudential Regulatory Authority at the Bank.
It will also enshrine in law the principle that the regulator can seize a failing lender and wipe out shareholders to protect financial stability.
Further powers to block banks from paying large bonuses and dividends if the regulator decides they need to rebuild their capital buffers could also be unveiled.
Following a bitter battle with the Treasury Select Committee, the Bank is expected to be subjected to new oversight to rein in its vastly increased powers.
The Court of the Bank is expected to be revamped to be able to hold the Governor and his fellow directors to account. It is also likely to become requirement that members of the Court have to be finance professionals.
Among the other changes will be Governor's term, which is expected to be moved to a single eight-year stint from a maximum of two five-year terms. (AtW's: why have much longer 8 year period, how would that make the person more accountable? It's not like one needs to run expensive elections to appoint new Gov.)
The FSA's consumer protection job will be transferred to the new Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA is expected to be handed new powers to ban products deemed not to be in the consumer's best interest even if there is no evidence of wrongdoing. Currently, the regulator acts only after something has gone wrong.
The Bill, which has already been subject to consultation, will be begin the official overhaul of banking regulation that the Conservatives first outlined when in opposition. It is expected to be made law this year in time for the new bodies to begin formally operating next year.
The changes are the biggest reform of banking supervision since Labour stripped the powers out of the Bank in 1997 and moved them to the FSA. Labour's tri-partite system of joint regulation between the Bank, the FSA and the Treasury was found wanting during the financial crisis.
Regulatory "underlap" was blamed for lack of proper supervision, with the Bank, the FSA and the Treasury all believing it was the other's job to make keep the system in check.
Source: Chancellor George Osborne to unveil new powers to rein in the banks - Telegraph
So there you have it - the end is in sight for the sham known as "Bank of England's independence". Meanwhile it can continue to take responsibility for money printing that Treasure has absolutely nothing to do with ...
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