Chancellor to call for retail banks to be ring-fenced

[Bosonic]

Source: BBC

Chancellor George Osborne is to force banks to ring-fence their retail operations from investment banking.

In a speech on Wednesday he will say banks must be set up so that their branches and public savings and loans would not be damaged if their trading arms ran into trouble.

The legal separation of the functions of big banks was recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking.

He will also announce the privatisation of Northern Rock.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13770746

[Springer9]

1. Needs to be done again in the USA

It was one of the provisions of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act that was repealed in 1999.

[InkAddict]

2. So, was this not the way things were in the US before the repeal of

Glass–Steagall? Were these entities ever separated in UK once upon a time? I'm not well-versed in the history of UK/International banking, so will this present a cause for alarm to the good Professor Henry Higgins and his flower girl?


I found some other news regarding UK banking/investments here: http://www.jordans.co.uk/newsandpressreleases/

[valerief]

3. I remember when. nt

[Turbineguy]

4. He's talking armed overthrow!

Not stick taxpayers with losses? Unthinkable!