Summary
When he was in opposition, Business Secretary Vince Cable repeatedly demanded that UK banks be separated into investment and retail businesses to protect the country from another banking crisis. But if such measures to protect the taxpayer from so-called casino capitalists looked foreseeable after the Independent Commission on Banking was set up last year, everybody knew that the tone would be rather more conciliatory by the time the interim report emerged last week. Those who had feared anti-business radicalism duly praised the Commission's moderation, while those looking forward to a quid pro quo complained about establishment stooges soft-soaping the bankers.
The ICB's key recommendation was Chinese walls between the two types of banking, both of which would have their own capital buffers and would be prevented from cross-supporting one another. The idea has divided commentators, with some arguing that such partitions never work in practice.See the full content of this document
Extract
What Vickers Recommended
The Commission also wants to see these so-called "tier one capita...
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