Investment Bank Special Administration Regulations 2011
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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Lord Sassoon
That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 10 January be approved.
Relevant Documents: 12th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon)
My Lords, I beg to move that the draft regulations and the draft order laid before the House be approved. The global financial crisis and ensuing economic woes have shown us all the huge costs of inappropriate regulation, excessive risk-taking and overconfidence in the banking system. This was no more apparent than with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, where widespread panic gripped the financial markets and where clients in the United Kingdom were unsure as to whether they would ever recover the billions of pounds-worth of assets and money that they had invested. In fact, that is still being resolved.
We simply cannot afford a repeat of what flowed from the Lehman collapse. It is now our responsibility to develop an insolvency regime robust enough to handle the failure of investment banks. This is essential if we are to maintain the UK’s position as the world’s leading centre for financial services. However, let us be clear: while the regime being debated today is a step towards addressing this issue, the new regime by itself is not enough. That is why the Government are undertaking comprehensive reforms on both the domestic and international stage.
At home, we are overhauling the failed tripartite structure of financial regulation and strengthening our resolution frameworks. We have also set up the Independent Commission on Banking to advise on how to mitigate systemic risk in our financial system. We are looking forward to receiving the commission’s recommendations in September. Internationally, the Government are working closely with the Financial Stability Board and the European Commission to develop a globally consistent approach to resolving systemic firms. This will help to create a level playing field, which is important to ensuring that UK competitiveness does not suffer.
Let me now turn to the focus of this afternoon’s debate, which is the special administration regime. The current insolvency arrangements under the Insolvency Act 1986, although perfectly suitable for winding up most firms, do not take into account the complexities and conflicts that an administrator faces when winding up an investment bank. The administrator does not have an explicit objective to return client assets or to co-operate with market infrastructure bodies. Instead, the administrator must act solely under its objective to either rescue the company or maximise returns to creditors before winding it up. This potentially places the administrator in a difficult position if additional focus is required to return client assets or to resolve counter-party positions. The administrator is likely to require frequent directions from the court before taking the necessary actions, and this is extremely costly. The existing regime also creates uncertainty for investors as it is not clear that the administrator has a duty to work to return their assets and money. This is harmful to the UK’s reputation as a safe place for investors to entrust their assets.
The special administration regime we are debating today addresses this uncertainty by giving the administrator a specific objective to ensure the return of client assets. It will also reduce the length of a potential administration and minimise the costs for creditors and for the wider economy, and it has undergone extensive public scrutiny to ensure that this will be the case. The proposed regime has benefited from the input of an advisory panel of over 30 industry practitioners. We have also consulted on the regulations themselves, and the introduction of the regime has the full support of many in the financial sector. This is because no one wants to see another failure like Lehman Brothers, where the administration is entering its third year with substantial sums of client assets still to be returned.
I shall now provide a brief summary of the two statutory instruments we are considering today, starting first with the Investment Bank Special Administration Regulations 2011. These regulations provide administrators with three statutory objectives. The first objective will give the administrator a duty to return client assets because it is essential that client assets are returned as quickly as possible to prevent any undue suffering and financial hardship. Having this first objective will allow the Financial Services Authority, if necessary, to instruct an administrator to prioritise the return of client assets above the other aims, a power I will return to later. Under these regulations, in order to achieve objective 1, the administrator will also be able to set a bar date for claims to client assets. This will significantly improve the speed at which client assets can be returned. The bar date will include safeguards to reduce the possibility of a client losing out from its implementation—for example, by failing to submit a claim. These safeguards will be set out in the insolvency rules which will be laid separately before Parliament shortly after these regulations come into force.
The second objective ensures that an administrator shares information with market infrastructure bodies. It is essential that when an institution becomes insolvent, the administrator works with the relevant clearing houses and exchanges, and with the authorities, to resolve all failed trades and all open positions. Without this co-operation, market confidence and the stability of our financial markets would be seriously undermined. It is also important that the administrator works with the FSA to facilitate any actions the authorities might need to take as a result of an investment bank becoming insolvent.
Moving on to the third special administration objective, this follows the example set out under the Insolvency Act 1986 to ensure that, in the event of an investment bank special administration, the administrator will continue to work in the best interests of all creditors in either rescuing the investment bank, if that is at all possible, or in winding it up. Having this objective means that the administrator is unlikely to be successfully challenged for working in the best interests of the creditors in winding up the firm. Under the new regime, the Financial Services Authority will have the power to direct the administrator to prioritise one or more of the special administration objectives over the others, although I should stress that the regulations make it clear that this power can only be used if it is in the interests of financial market stability.
Another important part of this regime is that if the administrator continues to meet payments, suppliers of key services to that investment bank will not be allowed to terminate their services. The proposal is relevant to all suppliers of equipment used by the investment bank in connection with the trading of securities or derivatives; suppliers of financial data and infrastructure permitting electronic communications services; suppliers of secure data networks provided by an accredited network supplier; and suppliers of data processing capabilities.
On the second statutory instrument, the Investment Bank (Amendment of Definition) Order, the Banking Act currently stipulates that only firms holding client assets are within the scope of the special administration regime. This order widens the scope of the special administration regime to ensure that firms holding client moneys are also included. This is because the Government and their investment banking advisory panel agree that it does not make sense to have two different insolvency regimes—one for firms holding client assets and one for firms holding client money. It is right that the new regime should apply in both instances as it is suitably flexible to do so. Separate insolvency regimes for firms holding client money versus those holding client assets would serve only to complicate further what is already a complicated process.
The Government have, however, excluded from the scope of the special administration regime institutions that hold client assets only for the purpose of carrying out an insurance mediation activity. We have done this for the simple reason that the special administration regime is not designed for these types of business activity. Firms conducting these activities will enter the same insolvency proceedings as before.
This legislation will help preserve the UK’s reputation as a leading destination for investment banking. It is a clear demonstration that we have learned from past mistakes, that we are serious about financial reform and that we will do everything in our power to ensure that financial stability is placed at the heart of our regulatory agenda. The legislation is good for the industry and good for the customer.
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, this has been an interesting debate, perhaps a little more interesting because of one or two of the little side conversations that got going, and certainly more interesting than the perhaps slightly dry but very important regulations had led me to expect. I am grateful not only for all the contributions made but for the general support for the proposed regulations. The past few years have shown that investment banks can fail and can cause huge disruption, not just to investors but to the wider economy. That is why the Government are putting in place this new regime.
I said at the beginning that the regime is being developed with the input of industry experts. I should like to echo the thanks of the noble Lord, Lord Myners, for the input and help that we have had. These have been complex instruments to develop. I am also happy to acknowledge the process that has resulted in these regulations today was one that the noble Lord himself kicked off when he was in the Government. It has taken a couple of years to get the regulations right and to achieve a regime that I believe is fit for purpose.
In addition, in accordance with Section 236 of the Banking Act, the regime will be reviewed within two years of the regulations coming into force. That review will consider how far the regulations are achieving the objectives set out in Section 233 of the Banking Act and whether the regulations should continue to have effect. A copy of that report will be laid before Parliament. That goes some way to answering the questions of the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, about future-proofing, continuity and the connection to the wider regime. These are important questions, but they have been taken account of within the regime that the Banking Act sets up.
On the specific question on the future of the Financial Services Authority, I would not presume, until your Lordships’ House had passed the necessary legislation that will come forward, to talk too much about what happens after the Financial Services Authority comes to the end of its life. However, in that legislation, we will take full account of all the functions, including those under these instruments, which the FSA currently covers.
The noble Lord, Lord Myners, asked about the situation with Germany. In particular, in response to that situation, the FSA has consulted on introducing a 20 per cent cap on intra-group deposits of client money so that the scope for exposure to overseas regimes that may have some bar on the return of money is significantly reduced. Of course, as I have already indicated, we work as a Government to ensure that resolution regimes, in so far as is possible, can be made consistent on both a European and global basis.
Lord Myners
The capping of exposures may be a good thing in itself, but what happened here was that, after the collapse of Lehman brothers, the Germans effectively said, “These are no longer client assets. They will be deemed to be the assets of Lehman Brothers International”. That is the core of the matter. It strikes me as quite extraordinary that a fellow European nation should have done this. To date, we have not been successful in unwinding what could only be regarded as a hostile action to the concept of client money. I welcome what has already been done, but I urge the Minister to take an interest in this and to see whether, perhaps with the FSA, we could give one more push on this subject.
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Myners, knows very well the difficult background to this, as well as the fact that the German situation is, in the first instance, a matter for the courts. It is therefore difficult to go into it in much detail. That is where it principally lies, rather than being a government to government matter. As I have explained, the sensible response to cover the generality of these situations is to ensure that investment banks do not in future overexpose the intra-group excessively. That is why they have introduced the 20 per cent restriction. We will wait to see how this matter is resolved in the courts and what further lessons, if any, that leads to.
The noble Lord then asked a second question about sources of moral hazard in omnibus accounts. Again, the Financial Services Authority has certainly focused attention on this area. It has committed to enhancing the client assets source book, where regulatory failures in the general area of protection of clients’ assets were very much exposed by the Lehman Brothers case. It is not the case that omnibus accounts are, in themselves, a source of hazard, as long as there is proper segregation of clients’ money, which is the critical issue here.
As has been said, today is not the time to get into the questions that came up at the end of the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Myners, about bonuses, the importance of the City and so on. We will definitely come back to these things. I am grateful for the noble Lord’s confirmation that he supports the Independent Commission on Banking. I very much hope that it will shed light—as Sir John Vickers’s recent speech indicates it will—on all these issues. The noble Lord also referred to Project Merlin, which we are working on very hard to ensure that banks pay out bonuses that are less than they otherwise would have been and lend more than they otherwise would have done.
Lord Myners
I make one last intervention on this. Can the Minister tell us simply how the Government will find out what bonuses otherwise would have been and how much money would have been lent in the absence of Merlin? It seems that the Minister yesterday, in using the terms “demonstrable” and “verifiable”, overreached himself in suggesting that there was a way in which the outcome of Merlin could be proved. Can the Minister, in very simple, straightforward terms, explain how he will prove these issues on bonuses and credit extension?
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, when we have a Project Merlin outcome to announce, the noble Lord will no doubt have every opportunity to cross-question me on these matters. I also note, just in case noble Lords missed it, that the noble Lord committed himself to that being his final intervention. He is certainly well below his batting average for interventions in my closing remarks but we will see whether he holds to it. I shall try not to provoke him. The only further thing that I wanted to say in response to the noble Lord was that, despite what I just said about banking and unfinished business on bonuses, I very much echo what he said about the importance of the City. Extraordinarily skilled work is done by many experts across the financial and business services in the City, and the City adds great value to the UK economy; we should not forget that.
I will respond to a couple of the points raised by my noble friend Lady Maddock. The supplier proposal adapts existing provisions in insolvency law, specifically within the Insolvency Act 1986. We are trying to ensure that, in the case of investment banks, those critical suppliers without whom the resolution of the investment bank cannot take place—the positions cannot be closed out—continue to supply. When we talk about 28 days, it is important that the supply is paid for but it is a question of whether it is paid for within the 28 days. The supplier can stop supplying if any charges in respect of the supply remain unpaid for more than 28 days, if the administrator consents to the termination, or if the supplier has the permission of the court. In that context, the definition of hardship will be left to the judgment of the court.
As regards the bar date, the critical protection is that sufficient time has to be allowed for publicity to be given to the fact that the investment bank has gone into special administration. There has to be sufficient time for affected clients to calculate and submit their claims and for practical difficulties in establishing claims to be sorted out. Therefore, I believe that there are sufficient protections in the regime.
The noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, asked me a number of questions. I hope that I have dealt with the future-proofing and questions around the Financial Services Authority. Consumer protection will be fully taken into account in the architecture that we will propose to replace the Financial Services Authority. Central counterparties and the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives is an area which falls within the general heading that I addressed: namely, that we must work to achieve international and global solutions. I see some nodding and shaking of the head from the Benches opposite. That indicates that these things are not easy. We need to have a regime in place that is safe and appropriate for the markets in the UK, but equally we need to ensure that we have something consistent within the EU and the G20 framework as mechanisms which could provide safe solutions that might work against free investment flows. We have to ensure that this is not one of those issues where protectionism comes to the fore under the cloak of providing safe solutions. I absolutely take the point that the settlement of transactions is ongoing business in which the Government take an active part.
As regards how living wills fit with this new regime, recovery and resolution plans are again a core part of both our and the G20 authorities’ response to the “too big to fail” problem and will be required of all systemically important financial institutions. That is the critical definition in that context. It is not a question of an arbitrary definition that splits investment banks from other banks in the way that the noble Lord suggested might be the case.
On the protection of client assets, it is worth remembering that the FSA has set up a new client asset unit, which is a centre of excellence and expertise within the FSA, in further recognition of the important issues raised by the lessons learnt from Lehman. That further stresses the fact that although these instruments being put in place today are critical, they are in many respects only a part of a wider construct.
The first point that the noble Lord raised, but the last one which I should address, concerns the definition of fairness. The relevant provision is based on existing provisions in the Insolvency Act 1986 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. “Fair” is the modern term for the previously used “just and equitable”. While I do not profess to be an expert on these matters, I am assured that the term “fair”—its use is based on a lot of case law defining “just and equitable”—is well defined under court rulings and will be well understood by those administering the special administration regime.
That has been a long response to a short but important debate.
The Archbishop of York
I did not clearly hear the noble Lord’s answer to the question of the noble Baroness, Lady Maddock, about the bar. Who will determine what sufficient time is? How would I know that as a client? Who will determine that it is sufficient?
Lord Sassoon
I thank the most reverend Primate for pressing me on that. The critical thing, as I said before, is not that some arbitrary time is laid down, because that will relate to the complexity of the individual administration case. The objective has to be for the administrator to fulfil his objectives. The principal objective that we are looking for is the return of the money as quickly as possible. That will be the objective that the administrator will be looking to fulfil, subject to these safeguards that I have tried to explain to make sure that absolutely everything is being done so that those with money at risk are informed and have time to calculate their claims. A date cannot be fixed in a way that applies to all circumstances, because, if so, there would be a backstop date that might disadvantage people in a simple administration.
Motion agreed.