§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, as a condition of the guarantee given to retail depositors, the Government will require the high street banks and other financial institutions to hive off their retail operators in such a way that they cannot be affected financially by liabilities incurred in other parts of the enterprise as at present constituted as a condition of the guarantee given to retail depositors.
§ Mr. NelsonThe Government do not give a guarantee to depositors. The statutory deposit protection scheme, which is financed by the banks themselves, is to compensate depositors in the event of their bank failing. The arrangements governing the supervision of banks are set out elsewhere in the Banking Act 1987.