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Banking Bill

My Lords, the intention behind this amendment is to ensure that the special resolution objectives, under Clause 4 and the code of practice, under Clause 5, apply to the powers to take a bank holding company into temporary public ownership. I shall be brief in explaining how this is already the legal effect of the Bill and, therefore, why this amendment is unnecessary. The power to take a bank holding company into temporary public ownership involves the use of the share transfer power. Clause 81(1) of the Bill enables the Treasury to take a bank holding company into temporary public ownership in accordance with Clause 13(2), which provides that temporary public ownership may be effected through the making of share transfer orders. This power to make a share transfer order is, under Clause 1(4), defined as one of the stabilisation powers of the Bill. The special resolution objectives and the code of practice already clearly apply to the stabilisation powers under the provisions of Clauses 4 and 5. Accordingly, holding company temporary public ownership, which, as I have described, can only be achieved through the stabilisation powers, clearly attracts these provisions. Therefore, the Bill already has the legal effect that the noble Baroness is seeking. The draft code of practice will, in due course, be updated to include provision about the bank holding company temporary public ownership power. On the basis of this explanation and assurance, I ask the noble Baroness to withdraw her amendment