Banking Services Law (Hansard, 23 February 1989)

§ Mr. Lilley

The report of the review committee on banking services law under the chairmanship of Professor Robert Jack is being published as a command paper today. I am very grateful to Professor Jack and his colleagues for taking on the challenging task of examining the law and practice relating to banking services. Their report is the result of two years of consultation and study covering the evolution of banking law over more than 100 years.

The terms of reference of the review committee were to examine the statute and common law relating to the provision of banking services within the United Kingdom to personal and business customers, including payment and remittance services; but excluding taxation, company law and parts of the law whose relevance is to trading or to the provision of services in general, rather than particularly to banking. The objectives of the review were to examine the law and its practical implications from the points of view of banker, customer and the general public interest in the availability, reliability, security and efficient and effective operation of payment, remittance and other banking services. The committe was to have regard to:

(a) current and prospective developments in banking and payment systems, including developments in electronic data processing and electronic funds transfer technology;
(b) areas of particular difficulty in, or confusion about, existing law and practice and the rights and obligations of banks and their customers respectively;
(c) differences in the law and practice of different parts of the United Kingdom and, where relevant, other studies and reviews of United Kingdom law;
(d) developments in the law of the European Community and in other relevant international laws and conventions;

	1979	Per cent. of total	1988	Per cent. of total
London and South East	54,304	52.5	53,585	46.8
Other regions	49,038	47.5	60,896	53.2
Total	103,342		114,481

The home Civil Service does not include Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff for whom equivalent information is not available.

780W

(e) developments and trends in international payment systems and reviews by international bodies.

The committee has made a number of recommendations to banks and building societies providing banking services. These are mostly aimed at improving standards of banking practice. There are also numerous recommendations for changes in legislation addressed to the Government. Many of these are very technical in nature.

The Government welcome the committee's report. In considering their response to the recommendations, they will wish to take account of the views of those who will be affected by the proposals, and will consider carefully the implications for bankers, their customers and the general public interest. The Government will set out their detailed response in due course.