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Banking Bill

Before other banks came into being, only the Bank of England was entitled to introduce legal tender. Then we created another currency called credit. Those banks in some ways are doing the same. I think that the Bank of England should ultimately take the decision. The introduction by the present Government of interest rates being governed not by the Treasury but by the Bank of England has created far better stability and better transparency and therefore they are not liable to political manoeuvrings. Even the best civil servants are still liable to political manoeuvrings. I will not welcome the amendment, but perhaps the ultimate decision ought to lie not with the Treasury, although it is answerable to Parliament, but with the Bank of England, which can turn up at the Select Committee, and its chairman can be quizzed on the decision. It is dealing with banking day by day, with an interest in the entire economy as opposed to banks that are just interested in their shareholders. Perhaps, when there are difficulties, the decision ought to lie with the Bank of England, not the Treasury. However, the clarity of the noble Baroness’s argument is irrefutable.