Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has assessed the risks associated with holdings of United States Treasury securities; and what steps she is taking to manage prudential financial risk in relation to those holdings.

HM Treasury works closely with the UK’s independent financial regulators, including the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, to monitor risks to the UK financial system.

The results from the latest Bank of England Bank Capital Stress Tests from December 2025, indicate that major UK banks have the capacity to continue to support the economy through a stress scenario that incorporated a severe global aggregate supply shock, high advanced-economy inflation, higher global interest rates, deep and simultaneous recessions in the UK and global economies, with materially higher unemployment, and sharp falls in asset prices.

These results support the FPC’s judgement that banks’ current levels of capital are sufficient to support the real economy, even if economic, financial and business conditions became substantially worse than expected.

The Bank of England’s 2024 System Wide Exploratory Scenario also showed the system has an improved ability to absorb large price swings in assets, including sovereign bonds.