§ Mr. Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will institute an inquiry into the extent to which the operations in London of the Punjab National Bank, the Union Bank of India, the Central Bank of India and Johnson Matthey Bank, in supporting the now defunct Esal Commodities Ltd., complied with the Bank of England's banking supervision guidelines; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Ian StewartNo. The Punjab National Bank, the Union Bank of India and the Central Bank of India are banks incorporated in India which operate in London through branch offices. In line with usual international practice, primary supervisory responsibility for overseas branches lies with the "parent" bank's supervisory authority—in this case the Reserve Bank of India. The report on banking supervision which was published in June (Cmnd. 9550) took full account of the implications for supervisory procedures of the operations of Johnson Matthey Bankers.