Clause 224
Banking Bill
3:00 pm
Angela Eagle (Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury; Wallasey, Labour)
I beg to move amendment No. 32, in clause 224, page 106, line 27, at end insert—
‘(c) an authority in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom which exercises functions similar to those of the Treasury, the Bank of England or the Financial Services Authority in relation to financial stability;
(d) the European Central Bank.’.
The amendment strengthens clause 224 by permitting the Bank of England to share information related to financial stability with overseas partners, as well as with other members of the tripartite. It is right and proper that the Bank of England should have expanded powers to share information both across the tripartite and with overseas partners, when appropriate.
The amended clause would enable the Bank to share relevant information that it has received in relation to its financial stability functions. Typically, the Bank of England receives information from the FSA, which it can share among the tripartite. However, it is possible that the Bank might receive information from other sources, such as an institution administered under the special resolution regime or from other institutions that may approach the Bank directly.
At present, when the Bank of England has received confidential information from a third party, it may not be able to share it. In an emergency, under current rules it might face uncertainty about precisely which information it can legally share with other authorities. Clause 224 takes away that difficulty by enabling the Bank of England to share any information that it has received with other authorities. That removes any complexity or uncertainty that might arise in fast-moving situations and will enable the authorities to act more effectively in an emergency.
The amendment builds on the clause by enabling the Bank of England to share such information as it deems fit with overseas agencies that perform functions similar to that of the Bank, the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority. In a globally connected world where the financial marketplace is interconnected, the United Kingdom needs to be able to co-operate and share information effectively with other jurisdictions, particularly in the case of concerns about large cross-border firms. I can assure members of the Committee that there is no intention that the power should be used lightly by the Bank of England, or that it would disclose information unless it was necessary. However, it is appropriate that the Bank of England should have the power to share information on major issues of financial stability with our overseas partners.