Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Leadsom Excerpts
Tuesday 11th December 2012

(11 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Greg Clark Portrait The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Clark)
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The hon. Lady is absolutely right that one of the real problems in banking over recent years was that the people who had a trusted relationship with their customers saw them as sales targets rather than as people to be helped. That needs to change. The Financial Conduct Authority is very clear that these kinds of incentives have to go.

Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
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I congratulate my right hon. Friend the City Minister on reassuring us that he intends to require the Prudential Regulatory Authority and the FCA to promote new bank competition. Does he agree that full account portability could offer the biggest game changer for bank competition, and that an amendment to the draft Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill could achieve that?

Greg Clark Portrait Greg Clark
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and for her campaigning on this issue. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary and I will meet her to discuss her proposals. The draft Bill responds to the Vickers report. He said that if portability reforms were not adequate we could take further steps, so we have a vehicle to do so.