Banking Bill
12:00 pm
Nigel Jenkinson: The Government took the decision last week and that was a decision for Government. You raise an important question about whether there is a hard limit in the longer run. In the current stressed circumstances and conditions where people do not have much confidence in the financial system, a strong case can be made that it is important to retain and protect depositor confidence. That is the decision that the Government took last week. In other circumstances, under more normal financial market conditions, where suddenly a bank gets into particular difficulties on its own, it is possible to make a different decision. In terms of financial stability, it is important to look at the conditions of the time. That was a factor behind the Government’s decision last week.