Some good ideas, some silly ones – but no disasters April 11, 2011 WHAT passes for moderate these days when it comes to banking reform is in fact pretty radical. Yesterday’s interim paper from Sir John Vickers’ Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), if it is implemented, will trigger vast changes to the way UK banks operate – but it reads as a surprisingly sensible and balanced piece of [...]
ICB: Consumers will see cost of services increase April 11, 2011 CONSUMERS should be prepared for a ramp-up in costs as a result of proposals by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) to reduce banks’ implicit state subsidy, the commission admitted yesterday. “Bank borrowing customers had too good a deal in the run-up to the crisis,” said ICB member Martin Taylor. ICB chairman Sir John Vickers [...]
Depositors to get preference April 11, 2011 RETAIL depositors will become banks’ most senior creditors under plans drawn up by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB). The commission said that it favours introducing a “depositor preference” in the debt hierarchy, “ranking (at least some) depositors above other unsecured creditors in a bank insolvency”. The aim is to minimise the likelihood of a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ALLIANCE TRUST FORCED TO OFFER VOTE CONCESSION Alliance Trust will make radical changes to its shareholder voting system in an attempt to fend off mounting pressure from activist investors, the Dundee-based company will say today. The £2.4bn investment company, which last month fell out of the FTSE 100, is expected to introduce a [...]
Banks are off the hook – but customers will suffer April 11, 2011 WHEN? the coalition government launched the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) shortly after coming to power, it was clearly kicking party differences into the long grass. At the time, Vince Cable, a far more powerful figure before his “war on Murdoch” gaffe, would settle for nothing less than a full-scale separation of retail and investment [...]
Unilateral 10pc capital ratios for UK retail banks April 11, 2011 UK RETAIL banking operations must hold more capital than Basel III demands, the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) said yesterday. ICB chair Sir John Vickers said that the retail activities of UK banks should be ring-fenced so that they maintain a standalone capital ratio of 10 per cent “whether or not this is agreed internationally”. [...]
BANKS’ NEW CAPITAL STRUCTURE April 11, 2011 Q.WHY DOES THE REPORT FOCUS ON LOSS-ABSORBING DEBT? A.Banks hold far more debt than equity. In the financial crisis that debt should have been used to absorb losses, but banks’ complexity made it difficult to decide at the time what should be written off and what should not. Instead, governments were forced to meet all [...]
Switching bank accounts set to become far easier April 11, 2011 Switching bank accounts could become far easier following recommendations put forward by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB). The panel believes greater ease and flexibility in changing from one retail bank to another will introduce more competition into the sector and force banks to offer a better service. Among the recommendations are that banks should [...]
CITY VIEWS: WOULD YOU SWITCH BANK ACCOUNT IF IT WAS EASIER? April 11, 2011 SAVE OR BORROW PEER TO PEER AT RATESETTER.COM STEPHEN BANNON | ACE EUROPEAN GROUP “Probably not. I have been with my bank for a few years now. I haven’t looked into the process but if it is difficult I would welcome a change.” STEVEN JONES | LLOYD’S OF LONDON “No. Easiness is not a crucial [...]
At a glance: All the crucial points in the ICB’s report April 11, 2011 THE AIMS l The focus is to make banks more stable, the UK banking system more competitive and to reduce the costs to the economy and taxpayers of any remaining bank failures. The banking sector must be returned to normal market forces. l Enhanced competition is needed between UK banks to reduce concentration and offer [...]
