Clause 177
Banking Bill
12:45 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
This clause allows the Bank of England to give directions to an operator of a recognised inter-bank payment system. With regard to the consultation representations from the affected operator, those issues that apply to system rules also apply to directions. Does the Minister see a direction under the clause as being an exceptional route of action taken by the Bank of England or as routine? May I ask specifically what those directions might relate to? The clause states:
“A direction may...require or prohibit the taking of specified action in the operation of the system”.
Would the Minister elaborate on what “specified action” might mean so that we are sure that it does not mean rule change, for example? It could be helpful to throw out even one possibility of what a “specified action” might be. It might be a question, for example, of whether employing an individual would, or would not, be appropriate, or whether that enables the Bank of England to assess if particular individuals are fit and proper to perform a role within a payment system in the way that the FSA, as a matter of course, assesses people performing approved functions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Is that part of what clause 177 is designed to address?