Sir John Vickers to chair independent banking commission

17 June 2010 0:00 am | Updated: 17 June 2010 9:06 am | By Natalie Holt

The government is establishing an independent commission on the banking industry which will be chaired by former Bank of England chief economist Sir John Vickers.

The commission will make policy recommendations to reduce systemic risk in the banking sector, promote competition in retail and investment banking, and reduce the likelihood and impact of banks failing.

It will also consider how its recommendations affect lending to consumers and businesses, consumer choice, and the competitiveness of the UK financial services sector.

Chairman of the commission Sir John Vickers is a former member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and has also been Chair of the Office of Fair Trading.

In his first Mansion House speech as Chancellor last night George Osborne said: “The independent commission on the banking industry will look at the structure of banking in the UK, the state of competition in the industry and how customers and taxpayers can be sure of the best deal.

“The commission will come to a view. And the Government will decide on the right course of action.”

Sir John Vickers will be supported in his role by four other commissioners. These are Martin Taylor, Claire Spottiswoode, Martin Wolf and Bill Winters.

The commission will report to the Cabinet Committee on Banking, chaired by the Chancellor, with secretary of state for business, innovation and skills Vince Cable as deputy chair.

It will produce a final report by the end of September 2011.

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