HC Deb 09 February 1999 vol 325 cc197-8W
Mr. Vaz

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has(a) met the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss the activities of Standard Chartered Bank and (b) called for a report from the Governor of the Bank of England on Standard Chartered Bank's involvement in India; when he last met the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank; and what changes to the system of banking supervision he plans following the involvement of Standard Chartered Bank in India. [69084]

Ms Hewitt

The Chancellor has regular meetings with the Governor of the Bank of England at which a wide range of issues is discussed. He also receives regular reports from the Bank. There is no record of him meeting the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank since his appointment as Chancellor. On coming into office, the Government announced their proposals to reform the system of financial supervision. The first stage was the Bank of England Act 1998 which transferred banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority. A further Bill implementing the reforms in full was published, in draft, for consultation last July. The Government are considering the response and will introduce the Bill in the next Session of Parliament.