UK bank standards body confident of international support
By Matt Scuffham
LONDON (Reuters) - International banks operating in London are expected to support a new organisation set up last year to improve standards of behaviour at banks in Britain, its chairwoman said.
The Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC), created to review practices in an industry that has been rocked by mis-selling and rate-rigging scandals, has the backing of Britain's six biggest banks. But it has yet to secure the support of large international banks based in London, seen as key to its credibility. The BSRC is funded by the banks but will operate independently of them.
Chairwoman Colette Bowe said she was confident that support from international banks would be forthcoming.
"Everybody is expressing an interest in support so I'm quite confident about that," she said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. "We're getting very good feedback from the international banks. Everybody knows the importance of this. It's quite clear."
Some U.S. banks are reluctant to sign up because of uncertainty about legal risks if their staff fall short of a new industry code of conduct to be established by the BSRC, industry sources said.
The banks have also questioned whether it overlaps with existing British financial regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority which has responsibility for disciplining banks for wrongdoing in Britain.
Iain Coke, head of financial services at accounting body ICAEW, urged international banks to join the new organisation and British banks to be more vocal in their backing.
"The lack of support from some international banks, together with the relative silence from UK banks could be a cause for concern," he said.
Bowe said the role of the BSRC would be to help banks improve standards rather than compete with the role of the regulator.
"The BSRC isn’t a regulator. Ultimately if things are going to change in this industry it’s for the people who work in the industry to make the changes," she said.
The BSRC on Tuesday appointed UK Treasury official Alison Cottrell as its first chief executive.
Cottrell, who will take up her post in April, has been director of financial services at Britain's finance ministry since 2009, with responsibility for policy areas including promoting competition in banking. Prior to that, she worked as an economist for HSBC and PaineWebber.
The BSRC will publish a 'state-of-the-sector' report later in the year.
(Editing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman)
