UK: banking reform - Government white paper published

HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills yesterday published a white paper explainin how the Government proposes to implement the recommendations made by the Independent Commission on Banking last year: see here (pdf). The Government has accepted most of the ICB's recommendations but has not, for example, accepted the recommendation that there should be a binding Tier 1 leverage ratio greater than the 3 per cent proposed under Basel III. The Government is also proposing that ring-fenced banks should be permitted to undertake a wider range of activities than suggested by the ICB.

Paragraphs 2.70 to 2.73 of the white paper consider some of the governance implications arising from the ring-fencing proposal. It is stated, for example, that the Government believes that there is a strong case for ring-fenced banks to have their own board committees. For further discussion of governance in this context see the editorial written by Professor Iain Macneil in the November 2011 edition of the Law and Financial Markets Review and available (without charge) here.