Written question asked by Dai Davies (Independent (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 3 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 5 March 2010. It was answered by Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 on behalf of the Treasury.

Banks: Loans

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information (a) Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) Halifax Bank of Scotland provided to his Department on 6 to 7 October 2008 on the extent of their holdings of sub-prime assets.

Answer: In October 2008 HM Treasury announced comprehensive measures to ensure the stability of the financial system including capital investments in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Lloyds TSB totaling £37 billion.Ahead of this announcement the Tripartite Authorities (HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England) collected relevant information in line with their memorandum of understanding.Detailed information on assets is a matter for each company's management to disclose in their audited annual report and accounts, in accordance with market disclosure requirements.

Secondary information