Alistair Darling set to ask banks for disaster recovery plans
Amid signs that the UK government is going down the same road as the US government and significantly increasing its control of the UK regulation environment, Alistair Darling is said to have ordered the Treasury Department to redraft basic banking rules in the UK. In a follow-up to a suggestion late last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is to ensure that all British banks have a plan for their own collapse which will allow third parties to step in and unwind their various positions without too much confusion.
Looking back at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking group sagas, these took far too long to conclude and ultimately between the dates that rescue packages were announced and eventually concluded, investors were left in the dark and there was something of an information vacuum. Alistair Darling is set to confirm his plans in a speech to the House of Commons tomorrow which will clarify that the UK government will be taking on board all recommendations made by the Financial Services Authority chairman Adair Turner earlier this year.
Whether these potential changes will stay in place if a Conservative government gains power at the next election is very much open to debate because the Tory party has long been a supporter of the Bank of England becoming more involved in the UK regulatory scene.
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