My Lords, given the very limited time available, I will say simply that I have high hopes for and expectations of the report on corporate governance from Sir David Walker later this month. He will lay down very clear calls for action from institutional shareholders. It is very frustrating that...

My Lords, given the very limited time available, I will say simply that I have high hopes for and expectations of the report on corporate governance from Sir David Walker later this month. He will lay down very clear calls for action from institutional shareholders. It is very frustrating that...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement made by the Chancellor in another place. The Minister made it sound like some sort of triumph for the Government, but the truth is very different. A year ago the Government came to Parliament to say that they were injecting...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement made by the Chancellor in another place. The Minister made it sound like some sort of triumph for the Government, but the truth is very different. A year ago the Government came to Parliament to say that they were injecting...

With the leave of the House, I would like to repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. "Mr Speaker, with permission, I would like to make a Statement on the banks in which we have shareholdings. This morning the Treasury, Lloyds and RBS...

With the leave of the House, I would like to repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. "Mr Speaker, with permission, I would like to make a Statement on the banks in which we have shareholdings. This morning the Treasury, Lloyds and RBS...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, and the noble Lord, Lord Newby, for their contributions and observations. The noble Baroness is on the horns of a dilemma. Her comments are in many cases contradictory, and I shall point out some of them in the time left available...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, and the noble Lord, Lord Newby, for their contributions and observations. The noble Baroness is on the horns of a dilemma. Her comments are in many cases contradictory, and I shall point out some of them in the time left available...

My Lords, we are grateful to the Minister for making this Statement, particularly as it is in reality his Statement, rather than the Chancellor’s. He is the man who negotiated this and, therefore, it is fortunate for your Lordships that we have an opportunity to ask him questions, because I...

My Lords, we are grateful to the Minister for making this Statement, particularly as it is in reality his Statement, rather than the Chancellor’s. He is the man who negotiated this and, therefore, it is fortunate for your Lordships that we have an opportunity to ask him questions, because I...

My Lords, I welcome the Statement and support the action that the Government are taking in this second, very important, phase of activity. It is greatly to be welcomed that we are about to get into a period where, we hope, we can have more competition in the retail and...

My Lords, I welcome the Statement and support the action that the Government are taking in this second, very important, phase of activity. It is greatly to be welcomed that we are about to get into a period where, we hope, we can have more competition in the retail and...

My Lords, the decoupling of investment banking from retail banking has never been achieved anywhere. There is logic to an integrated bank. The issue is how we ensure that the investment bank does not place the retail bank at risk. This is something that the Conservatives have not grasped, because...

My Lords, the decoupling of investment banking from retail banking has never been achieved anywhere. There is logic to an integrated bank. The issue is how we ensure that the investment bank does not place the retail bank at risk. This is something that the Conservatives have not grasped, because...

My Lords, it was quite expensive to carry out due diligence on the APS. We have used a number of advisers but have ensured that the full cost incurred by the Government has been passed back to the banks. Indeed, Lloyds will pay its share of the work that was...

My Lords, it was quite expensive to carry out due diligence on the APS. We have used a number of advisers but have ensured that the full cost incurred by the Government has been passed back to the banks. Indeed, Lloyds will pay its share of the work that was...

My Lords, the Minister said in the Statement that the Government had to carry out due diligence on RBS’s assets. No mention was made of similar government due diligence on the assets of Lloyds. In view of the widespread concern about the value of assets of HBOS in particular, has...

My Lords, the Minister said in the Statement that the Government had to carry out due diligence on RBS’s assets. No mention was made of similar government due diligence on the assets of Lloyds. In view of the widespread concern about the value of assets of HBOS in particular, has...

My Lords, given the very limited time available, I will say simply that I have high hopes for and expectations of the report on corporate governance from Sir David Walker later this month. He will lay down very clear calls for action from institutional shareholders. It is very frustrating that...

My Lords, given the very limited time available, I will say simply that I have high hopes for and expectations of the report on corporate governance from Sir David Walker later this month. He will lay down very clear calls for action from institutional shareholders. It is very frustrating that...

My Lords, the Minister may recall that when we suspended the competition rules and, indeed, when we went ahead with the Lloyds/HBOS merger, I was concerned that we were limiting competition for consumers and small businesses. I therefore welcome the impact of this Statement and the fact that we will...

My Lords, the Minister may recall that when we suspended the competition rules and, indeed, when we went ahead with the Lloyds/HBOS merger, I was concerned that we were limiting competition for consumers and small businesses. I therefore welcome the impact of this Statement and the fact that we will...

My Lords, before I became a Minister, I was at the occasion when Sir Victor Blank raised this subject with the Prime Minister. It was an event hosted by Sir Win Bischoff, who was then chairman of Citigroup and has now gone on to become chairman of Lloyds. My recollection...

My Lords, before I became a Minister, I was at the occasion when Sir Victor Blank raised this subject with the Prime Minister. It was an event hosted by Sir Win Bischoff, who was then chairman of Citigroup and has now gone on to become chairman of Lloyds. My recollection...

My Lords, I declare an interest as treasurer of the Lords and Commons Tennis Club, which banks with Lloyds, as do I, and as a modest shareholder. The truth of the matter is that it was not that 97 per cent of the shareholders of Lloyds really supported the HBOS...

My Lords, I declare an interest as treasurer of the Lords and Commons Tennis Club, which banks with Lloyds, as do I, and as a modest shareholder. The truth of the matter is that it was not that 97 per cent of the shareholders of Lloyds really supported the HBOS...

My Lords, from recollection, I believe that the Royal Bank of Scotland will be left with approximately 2,400 branches. The branches that are being divested are the Royal Bank of Scotland branches in England and the NatWest branches in Scotland—plus, importantly, a number of commercial and service centres that are...

My Lords, from recollection, I believe that the Royal Bank of Scotland will be left with approximately 2,400 branches. The branches that are being divested are the Royal Bank of Scotland branches in England and the NatWest branches in Scotland—plus, importantly, a number of commercial and service centres that are...

My Lords, I understood my noble friend to say that the Royal Bank of Scotland would divest itself of 300 branches. If I am correct, does a thread link those 300 branches and how many branches will the Royal Bank of Scotland be left with after those 300 have gone?

My Lords, I understood my noble friend to say that the Royal Bank of Scotland would divest itself of 300 branches. If I am correct, does a thread link those 300 branches and how many branches will the Royal Bank of Scotland be left with after those 300 have gone?

My Lords, I thank the Minister for this comprehensive and highly significant Statement. However, is the reality not as he stated in his initial remarks that the banks do not need the insurance scheme, but that they cannot afford it and that that is why they have had to restructure...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for this comprehensive and highly significant Statement. However, is the reality not as he stated in his initial remarks that the banks do not need the insurance scheme, but that they cannot afford it and that that is why they have had to restructure...

My Lords, perhaps the Minister can help me. If the Government's position is that it is in the public interest to have more competition in the high street in the banking sector and to break up the Lloyds Banking Group, does that mean that the Government think that the Prime...

My Lords, perhaps the Minister can help me. If the Government's position is that it is in the public interest to have more competition in the high street in the banking sector and to break up the Lloyds Banking Group, does that mean that the Government think that the Prime...

The Commission spelt out its views on state aid in the late spring. When we announced the asset protection scheme in January, we said that it would be conditional on the Commission’s policy position. Of course, the Commission has engaged actively in state aid in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain and...

The Commission spelt out its views on state aid in the late spring. When we announced the asset protection scheme in January, we said that it would be conditional on the Commission’s policy position. Of course, the Commission has engaged actively in state aid in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain and...

It must be clear to everyone here that the European Competition Commissioner must have played an impactive and substantial role in the ultimate package decided on. With his usual commendable generous candour, can the Minister indicate the distance of travel from when the Treasury came very near to a meeting...

It must be clear to everyone here that the European Competition Commissioner must have played an impactive and substantial role in the ultimate package decided on. With his usual commendable generous candour, can the Minister indicate the distance of travel from when the Treasury came very near to a meeting...

There is nothing that I would like more than for a new mutual to be created, but I cannot find a way to do that which would not represent a substantial subsidy from the taxpayer to the members of that new mutual. It would involve a gifting of value to...

There is nothing that I would like more than for a new mutual to be created, but I cannot find a way to do that which would not represent a substantial subsidy from the taxpayer to the members of that new mutual. It would involve a gifting of value to...