Action To Reform the Culture of Banks
Issue- The Government has announced it will move quickly to implement the reforms of bank pay and governance proposed today by Sir David Walker.
Key points
- Banks failed because some of the top people running them failed to do their jobs. Tougher regulation will help to make our system safer for the future. But the culture of the banks themselves must change - and that is why we will take steps to implement the recommendations of the Walker review as soon as possible.
- Alistair Darling said:
"One of the fundamental causes of the financial crisis was bad management of some our major banks. Too many people around board tables did not ask the right questions; some chief executives did not fully understand the risks being taken by their traders; pay and bonuses encouraged reckless risk taking instead of responsible behaviour. Banks failed because some of the top people running banks failed to do their jobs.
"Tougher regulation, including stronger capital and liquidity requirements, reform of the mortgage market, greater competition, consumer protection, and living wills will help to make our system safer for the future. But the culture of the banks themselves must change.
"Sir David's proposals are the blueprint for how banks must be run in the future. His interim report recommended changes to control bonuses that have already become part of a global standard agreed by the G20. The Government strongly supports his recommendations and will take steps to implement them as soon as possible."
- Sir David's report recommends action to be taken by the Government, the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Reporting Council, bank owners, and the banks themselves. For its part, the Government accepts all the recommendations and will begin immediate work to implement them.
- Specifically, the Government's Financial Services Bill will allow the Treasury to issue regulations forcing banks to disclose in bands the number of staff earning more than £1million per annum. We will issue draft regulations for consultation in the New Year and bring them into force as soon as practicable after enactment of the Bill. This will force disclosure for the 2010 performance year.
- George Osborne is soft on bonuses. He his proposals are weaker than our tough new rules - and they would miss out investment banks and foreign-owned banks. For all his talk on improving regulation, when the financial crisis began he was welcoming a report calling for the abolition of all mortgage regulation. Now he would simply shift staff from the FSA to the Bank of England - causing massive disruption just when regulators need to focus on strengthening supervision and reducing risk.
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