MPs unite to reform British banking
Thursday, 17 December 2009 12:00
Plans have today been unveiled to launch an independent banking commission which will seek public opinion to reform British banks.
The Future of British Banking commission, created by consumer organisation Which and a group of influential MPs, aims to put the interests of ordinary people and wider society into a new banking system.
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: "Since the financial crisis in October 2008, a number of reports have looked at the causes and consequences of the crisis and suggested possible solutions. But they've all been written from the perspective of bankers.
"Which? wants to ensure that, for the first time, the strong feelings of the general public are finally heard and acted on."
The original proposal to launch the commission came from Treasury committee chairman, John McFall. Now Vince Cable, the Lib Dem shadow chancellor and David Davis, the former Tory chairman, have joined him in the debate on the future of banking.
According to Which? research, confidence in banks is currently low with eight in ten people admitting they did not think the banks had done enough to prevent another credit crunch. Six in ten were not convinced the banks had learned their lesson from the crisis.
The commission hopes to restore the trust between the public and banks. It said it would listen to the public's concerns about banking and also assess the perspectives and concerns of the industry and bank stakeholders.
Which? is organising the Big Banking Debate to focus solely on getting the consumer views to feed the commission's discussions before the commission makes recommendations on how banking can be reformed.
John McFall said: "The banking crisis has had such a profound effect on people that we believe their views and concerns must be at the heart of banking reform.
"There is a social dimension to the crisis and bankers, regulators and politicians need to understand and take account of these concerns."
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