Banking: Financial Crime

Debate between Lord Bridges of Headley and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord. The new system will be robust and proportionate.

[Lord McFall of Alcluith (Lab)]

The £2 billion deal on behalf of Qatari clients saw Barclays deliberately breach its own rules on money laundering and financial terrorism, bringing the total fines that it has paid from 2010 to £500 million. The FCA judgment was very clear: it was done to generate revenue and new business. The FSA has neither named people nor taken action against them. Given that the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, comprising individuals from this House and the House of Commons, said in its primary recommendation that individual executives have to be personally accountable, when will the Government implement this sensible recommendation from an all-party committee?

Bank of England and Financial Services Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Bridges of Headley and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 11th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

As always, my noble friend makes a perceptive point. As I said, I do not want to prejudice the outcome of the discussions that will likely take place. Obviously, my noble friend makes a good point. I simply make the point in return that, in the case of disclosure, we want to try to make sure that this is as internationally recognised as possible. I heed what he said and will no doubt make that point to those who will be present at that discussion.

On primary issuances, the relevant regime is the prospectus directive—which is currently under review. We are working closely with the European Commission and other European partners to achieve a positive outcome on that. We look forward to hearing any suggestions on how to improve this regime. I thank the noble Lord—and the noble Baroness who sadly is not with us—for this amendment. I hope what I said gives some reassurance that the Government take this issue seriously, but I ask the noble Lord to withdraw the amendment.

[Lord McFall of Alcluith]

My Lords, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Bank of England and Financial Services Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Bridges of Headley and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 9th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord McFall of Alcluith]

My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, and the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes. I was a member of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards which looked at the word “reasonable” and concluded that it is a lawyer’s word. If it is a lawyer’s word, it costs a lot of money, and if it costs a lot of money, it can obscure the truth. Let us get rid of it and invest the authority in the Comptroller and Auditor-General which will save everyone time and money.

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

My Lords, as my noble friend Lady Noakes said, the noble Lord, Lord Davies, is once again being incredibly modest and reasonable about his reasonableness amendment. I think the amendments merit a full response, so I hope he will forgive me. I will try my best, and I will pick up on the point made by the noble Lord, Lord McFall. I heed what he said about this in the past.

I shall set out the Government’s position. Clause 9 gives the Comptroller and Auditor-General a new role in the financial audit process of the Bank. The Comptroller and Auditor-General will be consulted on the appointment of the financial auditor and on the work programme that that auditor sets out to deliver. The Comptroller and Auditor-General will have the right to attend the relevant parts of the meetings of the Bank’s audit and risk committee. This is intended to assist the NAO in conducting value-for-money examinations of the Bank under Clause 11.

Clause 10 provides for increased public scrutiny in circumstances where a Treasury indemnity has been granted to the Bank, or to a company of the Bank. Fortunately, times when a Treasury indemnity is deemed necessary are rare, but it is right that where there is a direct risk to public funds the Treasury can require the Bank to prepare a financial report on any activities that have been indemnified, so that the extent of the risk to public funds can be assessed, and that this report is subject to review by the Comptroller and Auditor-General. I agree that in both of these contexts the question of access to information is critical. It is central to the ability of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, assisted by the National Audit Office, to carry out effectively the roles defined for him in the Bill. So I am pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Davies, has tabled the amendments and that the issue has been raised, but I am unable to accept them.

To address my noble friend Lord Higgins’s point, the language used in the Bill regarding the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s access to information mirrors the relevant wording from the National Audit Act 1983, which provides in Section 8 that,

“the Comptroller and Auditor General shall have a right of access at all reasonable times to all such documents as he may reasonably require, for carrying out any examination under section 6 or 7”,

in the National Audit Act,

“and shall be entitled to require from any person holding or accountable for any such document such information and explanation as are reasonably necessary for that purpose”.

As far as I am aware, the inclusion of requirements of “reasonableness” in this section has not created difficulties for the Comptroller and Auditor-General in the context of value-for-money examinations carried out in relation to other public bodies, and I see no reason why it should cause a problem now.

Some may argue that the Bank would be able to use this reasonableness requirement to delay examinations, but if the Bank did not comply with its obligations under this clause then the Comptroller and Auditor-General would be able to seek an injunction from the courts to enforce his rights. As such, it seems to me that the amendment is unnecessary, and I ask the noble Lord to withdraw it.

Bank of England and Financial Services Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Bridges of Headley and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 26th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

Indeed I can. These issues were raised and I am more than happy to meet the noble Baroness to discuss them in due course. This issue was raised by the Governor, Mark Carney, in a recent speech, and it is one that the Bank is always looking at. I am happy to discuss that in due course.

To conclude, the reforms in the Bill will strengthen the governance and accountability of the Bank of England, update resolution planning and crisis management arrangements between the Bank and the Treasury, and extend the principle of personal responsibility to all sectors of the financial services industry.

Finally, I return to a point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, about the balance on the PRC and the role of the FCA CEO. First, it is right to consider the FCA CEO as external to the Bank: he or she is not a Bank appointee. The legislation therefore ensures that there is a majority of externals on the PRC, since the legislation provides for at least six externals plus the FCA CEO, compared to five Bank committee members. It is also worth noting that, for the PRA board, the legislation requires a majority of externals on the board and includes the FCA CEO as an external for these purposes. The legislation, therefore, will reinforce the independence of the PRC compared with the PRA board.

[Lord McFall of Alcluith]

In the debate I raised the issue of transparency and disclosure regarding the Investment Association. This is a current issue and I would like an assurance from the Minister that they will take this issue up with the regulators—both the Bank of England and the FCA—to see if we can do something to assist transparency and disclosure in this industry.

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

My Lords, I am all in favour of transparency and am happy to meet the noble Lord to discuss those issues. I hope the noble Lord will forgive me for not giving a blanket commitment here and now, but I am more than happy to meet him. Transparency must be in the interests of everyone, as long as it is applied proportionately. I am acutely aware that the noble Lord has a lot of experience in this field, so he will forgive me for not agreeing to that request here and now.

I thank your Lordships for all your contributions today.

Algorithmic Trading

Debate between Lord Bridges of Headley and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 6th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I reiterate that the PRA, and Andrew Bailey in a speech last month, drew attention to a lot of these issues. I hope the noble Baroness takes some consolation from that and from what I said about the FCA. On smaller investors, as I said, the Government are looking at this issue. I draw attention to the Foresight report which said,

“transaction costs have fallen for both retail and institutional traders”.

We therefore need to look at this in a balanced and proportionate way.

[Lord McFall of Alcluith (Lab)]

My Lords, this House received compelling evidence from the Economic Affairs Committee that through HFT, billions of pounds of shares were being traded every day with little or no public exposure. Technology is being used not to ensure that we introduce fairness and neutrality into the market, but to receive information ahead of the rest of the market. This was described as the battle of microseconds, whereby ordinary investors and others are screwed because they do not understand the concept. The Government and the regulators are on the outside looking in; full transparency of the market is essential. Government have a public duty, and there has been laxity so far; they really should put their skates on. Then, the next time there is a “flash crash” or a liquidity value, they cannot put their hands up and say that it is nothing to do with them. Full transparency and disclosure are essential and it is time that the Government acted.

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

My Lords, that was a high-frequency question as far as I can see. The noble Lord raised a number of points. Investment firms that operate what are often termed dark pools are subject to code of business rules that require them to treat their customers fairly. As I mentioned in my opening answer, MiFID II will further introduce strict volume caps on the amount of equities trading that can take place under waivers from transparency. That will significantly reduce such dark trading.