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Banking Bill

The point that I wanted to make to the noble Lord was that that was only one of the conditions. It certainly could occur if financial assistance had already been provided, but that is only one of the conditions. We are debating the more substantial issue that the noble Baroness is pressing me on, which is whether the Treasury is carrying out a temporary nationalisation as a last resort. It is a last resort in the sense that although the FSA can act within a limited framework, the Treasury can only act if the nature of the crisis is such that it sees a threat to the financial system. Consequently, we are seeking to identify that question of last resort, because we are looking at a more serious circumstance than might have been the case when the FSA has acted in more limited circumstances. I hope that the noble Baroness will recognise that the way in which the clauses are drafted is an indication of that. If she remains dissatisfied with that, I will certainly look at the matter further, because I recognise how significant this issue is, and it is a little late in the night for us to get involved in extensive debates on this. I will look at the matter further before Report. I hope that I have reassured her that we have the terms of these clauses right. However, the argument from my initial response to her holds, and I hope that she will be content with that answer.