Banking inquiry too weak to deliver meaningful reform

date: 2 July 2012

embargo: For immediate release

Commenting on the government's announcement today (Monday) that there is to be a parliamentary inquiry into the banking sector, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'The government's reluctant conversion to a new parliamentary inquiry into banking is a welcome recognition of public anger, but still falls short of a proper judge-led inquiry immune from the party politics and lobbying that surround any parliamentary process. That is why we need Leveson to deal with media barons, and something similar to deal with over-mighty bankers.

'The inquiry should not be judged on the number of heads that roll but whether it leads to the root and branch reforms that the banks have successfully lobbied against for years.

'The fact is banks stopped servicing the UK economy properly long before the crash. We need a banking sector that does far more of its core job - supporting consumers and businesses - and far less of the socially-useless financial wizardry that got us into this mess.'

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