Four names for new Bank committee

The government yesterday named four external members of the Bank of England's new financial policy committee (FPC), and fleshed out more detail on how it will overhaul financial regulation in the coming years.

Former US Federal Reserve vice-chairman Donald Kohn, ex-Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank banker Michael Cohrs, former CBI boss and monetary policymaker Sir Richard Lambert and ex-Bank executive Alastair Clark will join the FPC as external members.

The Treasury said the FPC would be required to "pursue financial stability in a balanced way". There have been some concerns that too harsh a regime will damage London's competitiveness as a financial centre. The government also proposes creating a prudential regulatory authority to oversee individual banks and insurers.