In light of the recent activities by the United Kingdom's lawmakers regarding the economic stability of the country, the UK parliament's Treasury Select Committee are now recently examining the possibility of increasing capital requirements for its banks.
The controversial issue has been in the headlines since last week but was initially kicked off by the Chairman of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), John Vickers, as per Reuters. Apparently, Vickers was the one who pressed that the Bank of England (BoE) was not permitting other banks to hold the required equity consistent with the ICB.
The recent statements made by Vickers became a pressing issue which then urged the BoE to look into the matter. In fact, several individuals have already seen the issue worthy of reform. "Robust levels of capital are as important now as they were a decade ago. These complex issues remain a source of controversy," the UK parliament's Treasury Select Committee Chairman, Andrew Tyrie, said in a statement, as per the publication.
Conflicting views are constantly being aired out like the opposition of BoE Governor Mark Carney saying that the economy might be in danger when reforms are pursued. "If capital requirements are increased, some of those costs will be passed on to households and businesses in the real economy," Carney wrote in a letter to Tyrie, as per the news agency.
Carney further stressed that the now known Vickers reform, if pursued, should also include the closing down of failing parts of a bank and at the same time ensuring the safety of deposits. "It would be inconsistent to discount these benefits when setting the overall capital framework," Carney continued.
Things are heating up in the European Union at the same time, as per The Guardian. According to the publication, the Treasury is also busy preparing, as they are to soon publish a statistics of the economic advantages of Britain in its continued membership with the EU.
This is in light of the recent news that Britain might consider veering away from the union in the future. The publication further revealed that the anticipated document containing the "comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of membership," will be available this week or the following week.
U.S. President Barack Obama, whose position is known to be in favor of the British to attain its membership with the EU will be coming to UK on Friday, as per the news outlet. "We have no closer friend in the world, and if we are asked our view as a friend, we will offer it," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser said, as per the publication.
