Member

The noble Lord, Lord Vaux, raised issues of the impact on banks and their financial crime obligations. We have held extensive talks with UK Finance, the FCA and the banks themselves regarding this area. We believe that the information notices that will be issued by the PSFA’s enforcement unit will have little material effect on the banks, as the information notices can be issued only where there is a suspicion of fraud. We do not think it would be appropriate to tell banks what they should or should not do in respect of their existing reporting obligations. The measures in the Bill are not intended to absolve banks of their wider financial reporting obligations. I appreciate the concern and hope that this is reassuring to noble Lords, but I am open to ongoing conversations about guidance versus the Bill.