Banking Commission Report

Baroness Morgan of Cotes Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

There will be clear definitions in the legislation. To be fair, what John Vickers recommended, and what we are proposing, is relatively straightforward. There are certain things that will have to be in the ring fence, such as the deposits of individuals and the overdrafts of small businesses. There are also certain things that cannot be in it, such as classic investment banking activities. There will then be a middle ground, which will essentially involve corporate lending, and that can either be in the ring fence or not. John Vickers thought that it would be wrong to prescribe that, because different banks have different models, so he has left the location of the ring fence flexible. However, the height of the fence will be high, and we are going to introduce it into legislation.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

I welcome the emphasis in the Chancellor’s statement on more choice and competition, which will benefit businesses in my constituency and elsewhere. They often tell me that this is not just about bank lending, and that it is also about poor customer service and unexpected charges being imposed. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that this is just the start of a process, and that there will be continuous monitoring of the way in which banks treat their customers from now on?

[Mr Osborne]

There will be, and part of the new regime will involve a specific authority looking at competition and customer service. In that way, we shall avoid having one institution—namely, the FSA—trying to do both functions of a regulator, which are to look at the point-of-sale service that someone gets to ensure that they are being sold a product correctly, as well as ensuring that the bank itself is being properly managed and is not about to collapse. Separating those functions will be an essential part of our reforms.