BBA sets out plan to restore consumer confidence

UK banks are taking decisive steps to restore confidence and to rebuild trust in their industry, a publication by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has shown.

Next Steps for Banking sets out how banks are working to meet the public expectation of change by overhauling their practices in conjunction with the Government, regulators and customers.

The publication aims to be an authoritative account of the actions the banks are taking to reform the industry and will be available as a downloadable part-work, with new chapters added every two weeks. The first two chapters, issued today (22 October), are Why Banking Matters and Banking Reform – the Next Steps.

Angela Knight, chief executive of the BBA, said: “The banks are undertaking a vast amount of work to reform the financial system, much of it unobserved and unrecorded. This series sets out to detail the work that is being done at an unprecedented pace to reform the industry, and to inform the debate as to the kind of change we need going forward.

“It must be remembered that reform comes at a cost: we need an open and constructive discussion about how we can reconcile the need to restore stability with the need both to keep down the cost of funds and to ensure their continued availability. We believe the key to making the right changes is to base them on the banks who have managed well through the downturn.

“The debate on the future of the financial system is taking place right now across the world, among Governments, regulators and central banks. Next Steps is our contribution to that debate.”