November 04, 2008

The heads of the financial authorities are being grilled by MPs over their handling of the banking crisis. Chancellor Alistair Darling, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and the Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Turner of Ecchinswell are giving evidence to the Commons treasury committee. The session, in a committee room in Portcullis House, opposite the Houses of Parliament, will mark the first stage of the committee's inquiry into the dramatic events of recent weeks.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mr Darling initially won international plaudits for their ambitious £37 billion bank bail-out plan which has provided a blueprint for similar schemes around the world.But while the scheme was credited with preventing a catastrophic collapse of the banking system, there has been frustration that it has yet to restore the promised flow of credit to businesses as the economy heads into recession. There are also questions being asked as to how effective the Government's efforts, agreed as part of the bail-out deal, to curb the City bonus culture are really proving.