Financial Services Bill

Part of the debate – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:41 am on 8 December 2009.

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Ian Pearson: You are right, Charles, to say that we have spent a lot of money supporting the banking system in the United Kingdom. I do not need to cite the figures—I think everybody recognises it. And you are right to point out that some banks took excessive risks. That is why we have this Bill, with the clauses on remuneration and the strengthening of financial regulation—the whole package that is in the Bill. Clearly, when you are talking about individual risk, it is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority, as the independent financial regulator, to look at the risks of the individual businesses that it authorises under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. When it comes to risks to financial stability as a whole, the Bank, the FSA and the Government all have a responsibility to look at those risks, as I tried to explain earlier.