Financial Services Regulation Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Financial Services Regulation

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts
Wednesday 16th June 2010

(13 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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The details of the institutional arrangements will be set out in a parliamentary statement tomorrow. As I said, it is right to allow the institutions involved to conduct their internal procedures, such as speaking to the court of the Bank. I know it is a completely novel idea not to bounce every institution in the country into the decisions the Government take, and actually to allow a proper process to take place, but I happen to believe that that is the right approach. The serious issue of the regulation of derivatives is the subject of intense international debate to try to create a better regulated system—or indeed to provide regulation where none existed—and to provide some central clearing operations for derivatives so that we can avoid some of the systemic risks that built up in recent years.

Nadhim Zahawi Portrait Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)
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Does the Chancellor agree that the previous Government’s idea of regulating our banks was to have a midnight cocktail party, where they twisted the arm of the chairman of Lloyds Banking Group to take over HBOS?

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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Indeed, my hon. Friend is right: certainly, if the accounts are true, that was the approach taken by the former Prime Minister. I am not sure whether he did so with the knowledge of the former Chancellor, but I guess that we have to wait for the flurry of memoirs to find out.