Britain ushered in a new era of banking industry oversight on Monday when lawmakers gave their final approval to reforms aimed at tackling the structural and cultural failings which led to the near-collapse of the country’s financial sector.
The reforms are the result of a lengthy legislative process started after the 2007/8 financial crisis and a series of mis-selling and rate-fixing scandals which shone a light on illegal and unethical behavior at some of Britain’s banks.
Among the main features of the bill are rules to force banks to separate their retail and investment activities and a new regime to make senior bankers more accountable including criminal sanctions if their institution fails.
“This is a major milestone and marks the end of a three-year process, led by the government, to make the UK banking system stronger and safer so that it can support the economy, help businesses and serve consumers,” said Sajid Javid, the minister in charge of the bill.
