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Banking Act 2009 (Exclusion of Insurers) Order 2009

Of course, my Lords. The noble Baroness does not always believe every word that I manage from the Dispatch Box but let me make the obvious point. If the Government had anxieties, why would they be bringing forth an order to exclude the insurance industry from regulatory powers—which is what the special regime introduces—included in the Banking Act, which applies to banks? The answer is quite straightforward, as I sought to establish in my opening remarks. The insurance industry is a different institution with a different level of risk. It has not shown that level of vulnerability with which the Banking Act was designed to deal during the extremes of the banking crisis a couple of years ago. There is a different regulatory regime for the insurance companies. I hope I am not giving the impression that the Government are utterly reckless about what might happen in the insurance world. Of course the FSA has its responsibilities and of course there is a regime of regulation. But the Banking Act deals with the specific problem of a much higher risk-taking operation and power which the banking system has and the insurance system does not avail itself of. That is why we are looking for the exemption. Motion agreed.