Britain’s bank ‘ring-fencing’ rules create complexity, review shows

January 19, 2022

LONDON (Reuters) – Capital requirements for the retail arms of Britain’s banks have generally not harmed competition, but do create unnecessary complexity for customers, lenders and regulators, an independent review said on Wednesday.

“The ring-fencing regime has had no significant impact on competition in retail banking or its submarkets,” the review commissioned by the finance ministry said in an interim statement.

The review is working on recommendations to increase flexibility in the rules and reduce unnecessary complexity, it said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, Editing by Louise Heavens)