Tag: Lord Myners

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the contribution of contingent convertible bonds to financial stability and, in particular, the risk of adverse feedback loops and the contribution thereto of the absence of standardised terms.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

In December 2015, the Bank of England set out its medium-term capital framework for UK banks and building societies. The Bank’s analysis suggested that the optimal risk-based going-concern capital requirement for the system as a whole is between 10% and 14% of risk weighted assets.

The majority of this capital is made up of the highest quality, common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital. However, a small part (up to 1.5 percentage points) can be made up of additional tier 1 (AT1) capital, such as contingent convertible bonds.

The Financial Policy Committee confirmed that only ‘high-trigger’ AT1 instruments would count towards a bank’s AT1 capital in respect of non-risk-based leverage ratio requirements.

This capital framework ensures that the UK’s banks and building societies are able to absorb losses and thereby reduce the risks to the stability of the UK financial system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new unnamed holding company to be created by the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bourse will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Statement by the Business Minister, Anna Soubry, on 25 April (HC Deb, col 1174), what assistance they plan to offer BHS or Retail Acquisitions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Workers and their families will be worried by the news that BHS has been placed in the hands of administrators. The Administrator must secure the best possible result for the business, starting with rescuing it if possible as a going concern. If this does not prove possible, then we stand ready to help those affected, including through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service, to help people move into new jobs as quickly as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the Financial Conduct Authority have commenced reviewing the regulatory conditions to be applied to the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bourse, and whether that takeover can proceed without regulatory approval.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

I refer the noble Lord to my written answer of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586), and to the investor relations section of the London Stock Exchange Group website, which contains information about the proposed merger, including on the required regulatory approvals.

The timings of the regulatory notifications are a matter for the companies acting in accordance with the relevant legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Pensions Regulator about the length of time it will require to report on the BHS pension scheme; and whether they plan to communicate that information to fund managers.

Lord Freud

The right approach is to allow the Pensions Regulator to get on with its investigations into the use of its anti-avoidance powers. There is a clear legal process that must be followed and this can sometimes take a considerable amount of time. The Pensions Regulator’s Chief Executive has given a commitment that it will have made significant progress by the end of 2016. It has said that when it becomes appropriate to do so it will consider publishing a report of the case under Section 89 of the Pensions Act 2004. The Regulator is independent and Ministers cannot become involved in its decisions on whether or not to exercise its powers or seek to influence its investigations in any way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have agreed to cross-margining of variable payments through LCH Clearnet and Eurex; and if so, who will be responsible for regulating these separate entities; and whether they have required any increase in capital or margin.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) establishes a strict supervisory framework for CCPs, which in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England.

EMIR’s requirements – which continue to apply in the event of a merger or change of control of a CCP – include that a CCP must be sufficiently well-resourced to withstand extreme market events, including the simultaneous default of its two largest clearing members.

In the event of a qualifying change of control the Bank of England must under EMIR also assess the suitability of the proposed acquirer and financial soundness of the proposed acquisition.

Copies of the Bank of England’s 2016 report on supervision of financial market infrastructures were laid before Parliament on 4 March and are available in the House library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the effectiveness of the recommendations on public sector procurement by Sir Philip Green.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 11 April 2016 to Question HL7227.

As a result of the commercial and procurement reforms we made during the life of the last Parliament, we saved more than £21 bn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review, or charge others to review, the performance of the trustees of the BHS pension schemes, and whether the current trustees are fit and proper to continue performing that role at BHS and other pension schemes.

Baroness Altmann

The investigation into the BHS pension schemes, including the role of the trustees, is a matter for the independent Pensions Regulator.

The actions of the trustees and competence of the trustees are among the issues that we would expect the Regulator to be considering as part of its investigations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who has regulatory responsibility for approving cross-margining agreements between central clearing houses and the determination of priority in the event of default.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Under European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) CCPs in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. For other information I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 1 April (HL7153) and 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to establish a scheme to retrain as trade negotiators people with experience of high level intergovernmental and global institutional practice.

Lord Price

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has created the Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. ​The Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.