City of London Corporation response to Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards report

21 December 2012

​In response to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards publication today (21 December) of its first report, Mark Boleat (Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation) said:

“The City of London Corporation welcomes the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards’ contribution to this vitally important debate about the future of UK banking.

“It is positive that the Commission recognises that the creation of a ring-fence could enhance financial stability within the banking system, while also addressing important issues of culture and standards across the industry.

“Of course there is a need for enforcement to ensure that the banks conform with both the rules and the spirit of the ring-fence. But what the industry needs is certainty over the shape and structure it will be required to take by legislation in the coming years.

“The City of London Corporation does not believe that some form of separation of the different parts of banking is necessary or appropriate to tackle effectively the issues that have arisen. The plans stemming from the Vickers Commission should meet requirements to ensure that taxpayer support is no longer needed or potentially available to investment banking activities.” 

Notes to editors

1. Media enquiries
   Sanjay Odedra, Senior Media Officer, City of London Corporation
   T 020 7332 1835 / M 07831 542856
   E sanjay.odedra@cityoflondon.gov.uk
2. About the City of London Corporation
   The City of London Corporation has three roles: we support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration and skills projects. Plus the City of London Corporation’s charity City Bridge Trust makes grants of more than £15 million annually to charitable projects across London and we also support education, with three independent schools and three City Academies – plus a primary school and the world-renown Guildhall School of Music and Drama. We also help look after key London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important ‘commons’ in south London. And – with its heart in London’s Square Mile - we also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events, research-driven policies and a long-term approach. See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for much more on our uniquely diverse role, including the City of London Police, etc.