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Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Wednesday, 1 July 2015.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Question

My Lords, the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards specifically recommended exactly the study that my noble friend Lord Sharkey described because of the lack of diversity in the UK’s banking system. Given that report after report has identified lack of diversity and lack of local banks as the biggest barriers to securing both economic

growth and financial stability, why did the Government specifically ignore diversity in the review that they carried out?

Answer

My Lords, we have not ignored diversity. We are committed to increasing competition in banking to improve outcomes for consumers. The Government have an ambitious programme of reforms to increase competition in banking. This includes, for example, divesting both Williams & Glyn and TSB from RBS and Lloyds, creating a seven-day current account switch service, and delivering more data to enable customers to compare which bank is best for them—I could go on.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
762 c2057 
Session
2015-16
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Government shareholding Privatisation Sales Royal Bank of Scotland
Link
View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk