The Bank of England and Financial Services Bill has been given Royal Assent. The provisions in the new Act include those that:

  • complete the Bank of England’s (BoE) Governor’s ‘One Bank’ reforms by bringing the PRA within the BoE, ending its status as a subsidiary, and establishing a new Prudential Regulation Committee;
  • place the new BoE Deputy Governor for Banking and Markets into legislation;
  • introduce a ‘duty of responsibility’ for senior managers, superseding the ‘reverse burden of proof’;
  • provide for the extension of the senior managers’ regime and certification regime to all financial services firms (this is expected to happen during 2018 per an earlier HM Treasury policy paper); and
  • give HM Treasury new powers to provide financial assistance to illegal money lending teams tasks with tackling loan sharks.

View Bank of England and Financial Services Bill given royal assent, 4 May 2016