Bank Closures (Hansard, 28 April 1993)

§ Mr. Vaz
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Mount Banking Corporation Ltd.

§ Mr. Nelson
On 19 October 1992 the directors of Mount Bank petitioned for and obtained an administration order under the Insolvency Act 1986.
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§ Mr. Vaz
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Al Baraka bank.

§ Mr. Nelson
Albaraka International Bank Ltd. announced on 31 March that after extensive discussions with the Bank of England about possible changes in its ownership structure, it had decided to discontinue providing deposit facilities within the United Kingdom and to repay all depositors starting on 1 April 1993. The announcement said that the intended surrender of the bank's authorisation had arisen as a result of the new Basle supervisory requirements and not as a result of financial deficiency or its existence as an Islamic bank.

§ Mr. Vaz
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the banks that have had their licences revoked by the Bank of England since 9 April; and if he will give the reasons for each of the closures.

§ Mr. Nelson
Under section 17(2) of the Banking Act 1987 the Bank of England makes available monthly a list of the institutions authorised under part I of that Act. The bank's lists conventionally record separately those institutions which have ceased to be authorised during the intervening period. There are, however, a number of ways in which an institution may cease to be authorised and information concerning the reasons for the cessation of any particular authorisation is covered by the restrictions on disclosure in part V of the Act.

§ Mr. Vaz
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Roxburghe Bank.

§ Mr. Nelson
On 8 April 1993 the directors of Roxburghe bank petitioned for and obtained an administration order under the Insolvency Act 1986.

§ Mr. Vaz
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions(a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Bank of England about the closure of (i) the Mount Banking Corporation Ltd; (ii) the Roxburghe bank and (iii) the Al Baraka bank.

§ Mr. Nelson
Meetings are held from time to time between the Governor and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and between Bank and Treasury officials, at which banking supervision issues are discussed. It is not the practice to make public whether or not a particular institution is mentioned at these meetings.