Mark chaired a forum this week at Westminster to discuss the future of the banking sector. The main speakers were:

• Paul Mason, Economics Editor, BBC Newsnight
• Angela Knight, Chief Executive, British Bankers' Association,
• Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive of Which
• Rodney Baker-Bates, Chairman, Britannia Building Society

It brought together MPs, Peers, representatives from the banks, building societies, and NGOs to look at issues such as

• What should our banking sector look like following the banking crisis?
• Do we need to change how banks are governed and how should their role change in the future?
• What form should regulation of the sector take in the future?  
• Should we change the structures of our banks to create more mutuals for example?

Mark is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance which was responsible for holding the meeting together with Citizens Advice and Which?

There was actually a certain amount of agreement amongst the speakers given the different angles from which they approach the issues - Paul Mason, for instance, has been a sharp critic of the banking sector whilst Angela Knight is an advocate of the sector if not of some recent practices in it.

Nobody wanted a return to the 1970s when mortgages and credit were much harder to obtain but all supported the need for a greater range of institutions in the sector than there is at present due to mergers and takeovers.

There were significant differences of opinion though over the degree and kind of regulation needed as well as over whether high street banking should be separated from investment banking.

Some of the ideas aired included using fines on banks to promote financial capability, the need for a more ‘socialised’ financial sector (as opposed to nationalized) and a much broader representation on the boards of financial institutions including UKFI which manages the Government’s investments in them.

This kind of meeting where different parties are brought together is vital if we are going to reconstruct the sector on a sounder footing for the future.