Clause 178
Banking Bill
12:45 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
Briefly, the clause states that in exercising powers under this part of the Bill, the Bank of England shall have regard to
“any action that the FSA has taken or could take”.
This comes back to a theme that has run through the morning of the relationship between the various regulatory bodies. I can see that the purpose of the clause is to avoid any duplication. Are there any similar obligations on the FSA to have regard to any action taken by the Bank in respect of payment systems? I am also slightly curious about the phrase,
“any action that the FSA has taken or could take”,
as it is somewhat broad. I can see what the clause is trying to get at, but one could argue that it is vague.
Can the Minister reassure us that there will be good communication between the FSA and the Bank in this area? Could he identify structurally how that will be done? This is particularly an issue for recognised clearing houses and investment exchanges where the FSA has a major role. Who is in charge with regard to those institutions? I think it is essentially the FSA, but will the Minister confirm that that is the case? For those payment systems that are not either a recognised clearing house or a recognised investment exchange, does he expect that the Bank be in charge and what role will the FSA have in those circumstances?