Banking Commission Report

William Bain Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Actually, we are quite happy for the right hon. Gentleman to stay where he is, so I retract my previous comment.

In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), we are confident that we will be able to do this within the regime of European Union law.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Has the Chancellor assessed the impact on levels of net lending to business of corporate deposits, estimated at £270 billion for RBS, Barclays and Lloyds, potentially lying outside the scope of the retail ring fence? Who will decide which corporate deposits sit outside the ring fence—the new Prudential Regulation Authority or the banks themselves?

[Mr Osborne]

A key part of the Vickers report was that the location of the ring fence would be flexible. Certain things would have to be in the ring fence, such as small and medium-sized business overdrafts and deposits and the overdrafts and deposits of individuals, and certain things definitely could not be in the ring fence, such as investment banking activity. However, corporate deposits could either be in the ring fence or not in the ring fence; that would be a decision for individual institutions, although of course they sit under the regulatory regime. That is what John Vickers recommended, having looked at this very carefully, and that is the plan that we are now implementing.