Blueprint for fixing UK banks to be revealed

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 14:16

THE "best chance" the UK has of fixing the problems that led to the near-catastrophic failure of the banking system will be published this week.

On Thursday, the final proposals of the Walker Report, a government-supported review that will inform new rules on bankers bonuses and the roles of non-executive directors, will be published.

The review has been led by Sir David Walker, whose work 30 years ago established the Securities and Investments Board.

Although there has been serious lobbying against proposals to make pay scales of top bankers public – currently companies only have to report board remuneration – most commentators see Walker's suggestions as "sensible".

Fears that Walker's rules will drive financial service companies overseas are "probably over done," said one policy analyst.

"It is not as if jurisdictions like Germany and France will be easy-peasy," said the analyst.

Colin Melvin, chief executive of Hermes Equity Ownership Services, believes Walker should go even further.

"What the Walker review is saying is that the reason the governance system hasn't been working properly is that owners have not been attending to their ownership," said Melvin.

He added that Walker gives the UK the "best chance" to fix problems leading up to the banking crisis.