United Kingdom
Former financial stability adviser returns to Bank
Alastair Clark, a former executive director at the Bank of England, is to rejoin the Bank to advise Mervyn King, the governor, on financial stability.
UK regulators launch reform paper
Alistair Darling, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, announced on Thursday the publication of a banking reform discussion paper, written by the Treasury, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Bank of England.
UK financial sanctions: shift in responsibility
Responsibility for financial sanctions is being transferred from the Bank of England to the Treasury on 24 October.
Differing results on investment adjustment costs
A Bank of England paper evaluating the costs of changes in investment shows the elasticity of investment with respect to the shadow price of capital (the value to the firm of one additional unit of capital) to be 15 times larger than aggregate models…
King names lessons learned from crisis
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said on Tuesday he had identified three lessons, so far, from the banking crisis.
King speaks on Northern Rock
Three weeks ago, thousands of depositors queued on the streets outside branches of Northern Rock to take their money out. Those scenes, broadcast around the world, were shocking. How did they come about and how can we prevent them in future? My focus…
FSA chief admits failings over Northern Rock
Hector Sants, the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said on Tuesday that it had failed to anticipate the impact of the credit crunch on Northern Rock, a UK mortgage lender.
UK bankers call for global review of credit crunch
The British Bankers' Association (BBA), the trade body for the finance industry in the UK, has said that a worldwide regulatory review would help markets weather the credit crunch.
Lessons for the UK - BBA
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has suggested a review of the recently revised money market framework and the move towards principles-based regulation.
Open-ended guarantee for Northern Rock depositors
At the request of Northern Rock, the UK Treasury has agreed to extend the guarantee arranged in mid-September for retail depositors to any new deposits savers make or have made since 19 September. The guarantee will remain in place "during the current…
Old Lady holds rates, relaxes reserve rules
The Bank of England's monetary policy committee on Thursday said it would keep its benchmark rate at 5.75%.
Ex-BoE supervision head criticises FSA
According to Peter Cooke, a former head of banking supervision at the Bank of England, the Northern Rock crisis revealed the need for a proper "mechanism for crisis management", a greater official focus on liquidity rather than solvency and more…
Contrasting views on Old Lady's role in crisis
Charles Goodhart and William Buiter, both former monetary policy committee members at the Bank of England and both now professors at the London School of Economics (LSE), had sharply differing opinions on how the Bank should have handled the recent…
OECD advises UK to cut rates
The UK should lower interest rates, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said.
Why King lacks allies
Just when Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, was hoping for a respite from the battering he has received from the Treasury Select Committee and others over his handling of the Northern Rock debacle, along comes a heavyweight in the shape…
UK business chief singles out King
Richard Lambert, a former member of the monetary policy committee who now heads the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), dismissed Mervyn King's blaming of the Northern Rock crisis on regulatory complexity as unsatisfactory.
Banks snub Old Lady's three-month money
The Bank of England received no bids for its additional three-month tender on Wednesday but the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed that it had loaned €3.9 billion the same day from its marginal lending facility.
Survey reveals borrowing woes for UK firms
UK businesses will struggle to borrow in the coming months but households will find banks still willing to lend, according to the Bank of England's latest credit conditions survey, published on Wednesday.
SEC and FSA chiefs to discuss hedge fund rules
Paul Atkins, the commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and Hector Sants, the chief executive of the UK Financial Services Authority, will meet with senior hedge fund professionals to ask if funds should be regulated and to see what…
Politicians want more power to veto Bank
An enquiry into the crisis at Northern Rock by Treasury ministers is expected to result in calls for their colleague, the chancellor of the exchequer, to be able to overrule the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Sentance links UK inflation with global economy
The openness of the UK economy makes inflation vulnerable to global forces in the short term said Andrew Sentance, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, on Monday.
BoE bulletin reviews UK reaction to turmoil
The Bank's quarterly bulletin for the third quarter covers developments in sterling financial markets from June to September, which marked the beginning of the current bout of stress in the global financial markets.
UK head regulator: borrowing rules should change
Sir Callum McCarthy, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) - the UK's financial watchdog, has said the authorities should alter banking regulation in light of the problems faced by Northern Rock.
Mini-crises stretch ahead: UK economist
Instead of a sharp but swift adjustment, the prospect now is for a series of mini-crises stretching for years ahead, says the City economist Stephen Lewis in his commentary on the latest developments in the UK banking crisis.