Britain Set to roll out Sweeping Banking Reform

Britain's banking system is set to undergo major overhauls that the government aims to implement by 2019, reports said.

The key component of the reform is the planned separation of British banks' retail and investment divisions, as recommended in the September assessment report issued by the Independent Commission on Banking, headed by former Bank of England chief economist John Vickers.

According to Agence France Presse, the British government is intending to roll out all the reforms that the Vickers Commission urged to avert a recurrence of the financial crisis of 2008, when the Bank of England was compelled to rescue major financial institutions to avert the meltdown of Britain's banking industry.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has predicted another financial crisis if the eurozone debt situation deteriorates further.
The new banking reform measures, the AFP said, will be formally announced on Monday by Business Minister Vince Cable.

In an interview with BBC, Cable confirmed that the government intends to implement the reforms embodied in the Independent Commission report.

"We are going to proceed with the separation of the banks ... and tomorrow the government is going to launch this initiative on the banks, accepting in full the Vickers Commission," Cable told the AFP.

Reports said that key component of the banking reform proposal, its official adoption set to be announced by Chancellor George Osborne, is the raising of British banks' capital reserves as a buffer against failure.

Banking institutions, AFP said, have campaigned hard to kill the reform proposals, which they claim could bleed them close to $11 billion.

Also, banking experts say the Vickers reforms would inevitably translate to soaring banking charges, the bulk of which would be passed to customers.