UK bank lobby group backs body to monitor standards

LONDON (Reuters): Britain should create a new independent body to monitor standards at its banks and impose a new code of conduct for the industry, the British Bankers Association (BBA) said.

In its submission to an inquiry by lawmakers into standards within the industry, the lobby group advocated the creation of a Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC) to monitor and uphold ethical and professional standards.

It also called for more bankers to require approval to work in the industry from Britain’s financial regulator, including some of those involved in dealing with the public.

“It is clear this is not a simple problem with a simple solution, but rather there are a number of reforms that need to be made,” BBA Chief Executive Anthony Browne said in a letter to Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

The commission was set up to scrutinise the industry and examine proposals for reform following a raft of scandals including the rigging of interest rates. It has already recommended that banks should face the threat of being broken up if standards slip.